Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press; Thursday, November 27, 1997; 3:53 p.m. EST
Kalpana Srinivasan, Associated Press Writer
The World Bank's study of the global impact of AIDS shows that the virus is hindering progress in many developing nations and it directs leaders to focus resources on groups with high-risk behaviors. People living in developing countries account for 90 percent of those infected with the AIDS virus worldwide, according to figures released Wednesday by the United Nations.
"AIDS is reversing decades of progress of improving the quality of life in developing countries," said Martha Ainsworth, a senior economist at the World Bank and an author of the study. "Many of these hard-won gains are being lost."
According to the study, AIDS has trimmed years off life expectancy in many developing countries, including Brazil, Thailand and Zimbabwe, and has implications for the economic well-being of these nations as well.
Because developing countries must allocate their resources among a host of pressing problems, the report recommends focusing on high-risk groups -- such as prostitutes, intravenous drug users, male homosexuals and bisexuals with many partners.
"These programs are sometimes politically controversial but without them the epidemic cannot be stopped," Ainsworth said.
The study says more than half the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have "concentrated" epidemics, meaning that the virus has risen above 5 percent among high-risk groups. This precedes a "generalized" stage where HIV infection explodes beyond high-risk groups, as it has in sub-Saharan Africa.
"The lessons from sub-Saharan Africa is that you need to stop it before it reaches the general population," Ainsworth said.
Recent AIDS programs in Argentina and Brazil have attempted to wage an early campaign through education, HIV counseling and condom distribution.
Development leaders say that for countries with scarce resources, more than information is needed to thwart the spread of AIDS.
"I don't believe just information is enough for prevention," said Jose Izazola-Licea, director for AIDS Prevention and Control in Latin America and the Caribbean. "We are talking about complex behaviors."
The report explores strategies including:
-- Lowering the costs of condom use and safe needle use.
-- Altering social norms to encourage safe sexual behavior.
-- Improving the status of women.
Alain Colliou, who works in the World Bank's AIDS project in Argentina, said an effective strategy must bring together religious leaders, political parties, business people and others.
"It's not sufficient to have just the public sector involved," Colliou said. "The government has to take leadership, but a coalition of key stake-holders is needed."
Copyright 1997/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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