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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Waal Street Journal - May 14, 2003
David Bank, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
The study, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, highlights prevention efforts in Uganda, Thailand and elsewhere that have succeeded in reducing HIV infection rates. World-wide, however, the study found that limited access to condoms, prenatal care, testing and educational programs is contributing to the continued spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. An estimated 40 million people are already infected.
The study cites a report last year by the World Health Organization and the United Nations AIDS organization that 29 million of the 45 million new HIV infections expected by 2010 could be averted through greatly expanded prevention programs. The study called for spending on AIDS prevention to be tripled, from about $1.9 billion in 2002 to $5.7 billion in 2005.
Nearly half of current spending comes from developing countries themselves.
"It's a lot cheaper today than it will be later," said Helene Gayle, who heads the Gates Foundation AIDS program. "This is not going to disappear."
The study is likely to become part of the congressional debate over President Bush's $15 billion AIDS package. The study, for example, recommends a massive increase in the distribution of condoms and "harm reduction" measures for injection drug users, in addition to delayed sexual activity among young people and an emphasis on monogamy.
In Uganda, where President Yoweri Museveni was the first African leader to speak out about AIDS, the rate of HIV infection has declined from 15% in 1991 to 5% in 2001. The study found a sharp reduction in the percentage of 15-year-old girls who reported sexual activity, along with a big increase in the percentage of men who reported using condoms.
The study found that 1.9 billion additional condoms are needed each year in sub-Saharan Africa alone. All told, between six and nine billion condoms are distributed each year, about one-quarter of the global need, the study said.
Write to David Bank at david.bank@wsj.com
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