Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia - Friday November 16, 2001
"AIDS is an extremely complex problem, and the main solution to the problem is development," said Marcela Villarreal of the Rome-based UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
"Development means people become less vulnerable as they have better nutrition, education and access to health services," Villarreal, chief of FAO's population programme service and an authority on AIDS, told Reuters.
Cheaper treatment is a vital means to combat AIDS in the developing world where drugs are out of the reach of most people, she said.
She welcomed an agreement at World Trade Organisation talks this month to allow poor countries to skirt WTO rules on pharmaceutical patents to obtain cheaper drugs.
But she said that the availability of low-cost drugs for AIDS treatment could discourage research if pharmaceutical giants see their profits fall.
Brazil's commitment to provide generic drugs free of charge to HIV/AIDS sufferers is a positive step as it recognises the contribution of patients to society, Villarreal said.
But she warned that cheaper drugs had to be accompanied by effective health systems in which full dosages were guaranteed.
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