Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - Tuesday, 26 June 2001
Rodolfo A. Windhausen
The United Nations Development Program, in a report titled "HIV/AIDS: Implications for Poverty reduction," says some countries will see their total gross national product cut down by as much as 40 percent within 20 years.
The report suggests a number of actions, among them preventing the collapse of essential public services, adapting poverty-reduction efforts to the reality of HIV/AIDS, protecting educational achievements, mitigating the impact on labor productivity and promoting opportunities for women, who are carrying the brunt of the burden of HIV/AIDS.
The flow of development aid from rich countries to the 28 countries with the highest adult HIV prevalence rates (excluding South Africa) have fallen by nearly one-third since 1992, from $12.5 to $8.6 billion, adds the report.
"A world that spent an estimated $500 billion to tackle the elusive Y2K bug on our computers must be able to do more to tackle a tragedy that has already blighted hundreds of million of lives," said UNDP administrator Mark Malloch Brown.
The world currently spends less than $2 billion annually on HIV/AIDS prevention and care in developing countries.
To fight the epidemic, the U.N. estimates that $7 billion to $10 billion will be needed annually over the next five years for prevention and care, about 2 percent of what the world spent on the Y2K bug.
The UNDP report notes that HIV/AIDS poses a threat to the very fabric of society. It states that the loss of lives, skills and leadership, weakening of institutions and disruption of social networks undermine social cohesion and democracy. Deeper poverty caused by AIDS can intensify conflict over scarce resources such as land.
It also notes that AIDS' orphans are vulnerable to exploitation and crime. The number of AIDS orphans is estimated to increase to 40 million in less than 10 years.
HIV/AIDS is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for social and political instability, the UNDP document says.
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