Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
New York Times - December 3, 2006
A recent update issued by the United Nations AIDS program and the World Health Organization found some encouraging signs of progress, including a drop in H.I.V. infections in young people in eight African countries, thanks to aggressive prevention programs. But the number of people living with the AIDS virus continued to grow, reaching a record 39.5 million in 2006; 4.3 million people became infected this year; and the number of deaths due to AIDS reached an all-time high.
Most disturbingly, some countries that had been trumpeted as successes in controlling AIDS, like Uganda and Thailand, seemed to be having a resurgence. As one top United Nations official noted, "countries are not moving at the same speed as their epidemics."
Even more troubling was a report from the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, an advocacy group, which pointed to shortfalls in an area where substantial progress seemed to have been made: the provision of antiretroviral drugs to save or extend the lives of AIDS victims. Both the United Nations and the Group of 8 industrialized nations have set a goal of providing "universal access" to AIDS treatment by 2010, by which time they hope to have 9.8 million people receiving antiretroviral drugs. At the current rate, the coalition estimates, they will fall five million short.
Progress has been slowed by many factors, including insufficient testing to identify people who are infected and weak public health services for delivering the drugs. But the overriding problem may be a loss of the sense of urgency and a reluctance by most governments to commit the huge resources needed to provide universal access to treatment, prevention, care and support.
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