Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Miami Herald - December 1, 2003
Our Opinion: Wage A More-Aggressive Battle Against Pandemic
World AIDS Day
In recognition of World AIDS Day today, UNAIDS' annual report on the global status of AIDS is a mix of bad news/good news about the scourge. Overall, the number of people afflicted with AIDS has increased, despite growing prevention and treatment programs and more international funding for them. Worldwide, there are an estimated 46 million people with AIDS, a staggering number given the ripple effects of this killer.
Every AIDS-related death of a parent means another orphan and another productive member of a nation's economy lost. This is devastating Third World countries. In southern Africa, the long-term effects can be seen in rich agricultural areas, where the pandemic has decimated farmers and their families. This is causing increased famine across the region, which exacerbates political unrest in a volatile continent and prompts upheaval that expands the global refugee population. While AIDS has less of a toehold in Central and Latin America, its ravages there are increasing, and will bring similar conditions that contribute to instability.
If it isn't checked worldwide, AIDS will continue to spread its insidious attack on civil societies and national economies. The heartening news is that many more nations' governments now recognize these threats and have stepped up both AIDS prevention and treatment.
Defying the odds
Uganda is defying the odds, as its specialized prevention programs continue to reduce the number of infected pregnant women, an indicator of what impact AIDS has on a country. Some Latin American nations, notably Brazil, have negotiated to buy AIDS medications at reduced rates from pharmaceutical firms. Thailand has begun to contain rampant infections with the pragmatic promotion of condom use. The United States has put $5 billion toward a $15 billion, 15-year relief plan that it is drafting for the Caribbean and Africa.
Still, these encouraging steps can't begin to staunch the pandemic unless prevention and treatment expand to a truly global scale. That will require a near-universal confluence of governmental will to recognize the AIDS threat enough to put the resources necessary for an all-out war on this terrible disease.
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