The HIV/AIDS epidemic can be controlled but only with intensified global attention in the form of funding and leadership, United Nations officials and AIDS experts said in response to a status report by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
The threat of HIV/AIDS requires the kind of attention being paid to other major concerns such as global security, Peter Piot, M.D., executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, said at a press briefing on the new report, which was prepared for a high-level U.N. ministerial gathering to assess progress on meeting goals set out in a Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. The declaration was adopted in 2001 by the U.N. General Assembly special session on HIV/AIDS.
The report states that “despite encouraging signs that the epidemic is beginning to be contained in a small but growing number of countries, the overall epidemic continues to expand, with much of the world at risk of falling short of the targets set forth in the declaration.”
In 2004 there were more new infections (4.9 million) and more AIDS deaths (3.1 million) than in previous years, and as of December, an estimated 39.4 million people were living with HIV, Secretary-General Annan wrote. Furthermore, the toll of HIV/AIDS on women and girls has intensified, and many of the countries most affected are falling short of the 2005 target of reducing the level of infection in young people.
The expansion of the epidemic is outpacing the global response. About $6 billion were available in 2004 to implement comprehensive programs in 135 low- and middle-income countries, up 23% from 2003. But by 2007, if current trends in spending continue, funding will be insufficient to finance a response that is “comprehensive in both scope and coverage,” according to the report.
Achieving the targets specified in the declaration, including rapid expansion of HIV prevention, care, treatment, and impact alleviation programs, will require immediate government action and substantial increases in funding.
“We are seeing real signs of progress in tackling AIDS at the community level, but it is still not enough,” Secretary-General Annan said at the press briefing. “It is time for governments to translate commitment into concrete action.”
Dr. Piot agreed, adding that access to prevention and treatment must be expanded. As of December, only 12% of those requiring antiretroviral therapy were receiving it.