Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date. 
Wall Street Journal - August 2, 2004
A Wall Street Journal Online News Roundup
Most Americans believe the HIV/AIDS epidemic is worsening and that far more can be done to provide patients with access to affordable medicines to treat the disease, according to a recent WSJ Online/Harris Interactive Health poll.
At the 15th International AIDS Conference in Thailand last month, the United Nations reported that "only about 7% of the six million people in poor countries who urgently need antiretroviral treatment are getting it."
Seventy-five percent of Americans say they agree the U.S. government needs to do more to provide developing nations with access to AIDS drugs, including generics. And over half of those polled say they don't believe drug companies are doing all they can to provide the drugs to communities and patients who need them most.
"When it comes to medicine that are deemed a 'true necessity,' the American public strongly supports that people be given support for ensuring their access," said Harris Interactive Senior Vice President Katherine Binns.
In fact, 85% of Americans polled say the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should do more to get new treatments for AIDS to the market quickly.
The Bush plan for AIDS prevention and treatment recommends that 55% of direct aid go to treatment programs, 20% to prevention, 15% to end-of-life care and 10% to children orphaned by the disease. Those polled said they would allocate more toward prevention (34%), less to treatment (24%) and far more on orphans (27%).
The U.S. has drawn widespread criticism both in the U.S. and abroad for its AIDS program, which focuses more on abstinence than condom use.
Most Americans (79%) say sex education, the distribution of condoms and the distribution of clean needles to intravenous drug users, can play a large role in preventing the spread of HIV.
"These findings suggest that compared to the current administration, the U.S. public on the whole holds more socially liberal views about how this global health issue should be addressed," Ms. Binns said.
"Based on what you know or have heard, do you think the global HIV/AIDS epidemic has gotten better, worse or stayed about same compared to five years ago?"
Base: All Adults
| TOTAL | |
| Gotten better | 8% |
| Gotten worse | 58 |
| Stayed about the same | 24 |
| Not sure | 10 |
"US spending for the global prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS focuses on four areas: prevention; treatment; end-of-life care for AIDS patients, and children who have been orphaned by the disease. If you were in charge and you had $100 dollars to distribute between these programs, how would you spend them?"
Base: All Adults
| PORTION OF $100 THAT WOULD SPEND ON: | (Mean) |
| Prevention | 34.5 |
| Treatment | 23.8 |
| End-of-life care for AIDS patients | 14.3 |
| Children who have been orphaned by the disease | 27.4 |
"To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?"
Base: All Adults
| AGREE STRONGLY | AGREE SOMEWHAT | DISAGREE SOMEWHAT | DISAGREE STRONGLY | NOT SURE | |
| The best way to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS is with preventative programs such as sex education, condom distribution and the distribution of clean needles to intravenous drug users | 48% | 31% | 9% | 6% | 6% |
| The U.S. government needs to do more to provide developing nations with access to affordable drugs, including generics, for the treatment of HIV/AIDS | 42 | 32 | 13 | 7 | 6 |
| Drug companies are doing all they can to provide HIV/AIDS drugs to the communities and patients who need them most | 7 | 23 | 33 | 26 | 12 |
| The U.S. Food and Drug Administration should do more to get new treatments for HIV/AIDS to the market quickly | 55 | 30 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
Note: Numbers may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Methodology: This poll was conducted online in the U.S. between July 20 and 22, 2004 among a nationwide cross section of 2,169 adults. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income and region were weighted where necessary to align with population proportions. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online. In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95% certainty that the results have a sampling error of ±3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. adult population had been polled with complete accuracy.
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