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Chance is a word that does not make sense. Nothing happens without a cause.
Voltaire(1694-1778)
Associated Press
Wednesday, July 7, 2004
UN: AIDS winning battle; record 5M infected in '03
The cost of tackling the pandemic is estimated at $12 billion a year by 2005.
LONDON - The world is losing the race against AIDS, which last year infected a record 5 million people and killed an unprecedented 3 million, the United Nations reported yesterday.
The virus has now pushed deep into Eastern Europe and Asia, and tackling it will be more expensive than previously believed, according to the most accurate picture to date of t
e global status of HIV infections.
Nine out of 10 people who urgently need treatment are not getting it, and prevention is only reaching 1 in 5 at risk, the report said.
The AIDS epidemic is n
ow entering its globalization phase, said UNAIDS chief Dr.
Peter Piot at the launch of the agency's report, which is compiled every two years.
"AIDS is truly a disease of our globalized world. Whereas until recently AIDS was largely a problem for sub-Saharan Africa, 1 out of every 4 new infections is occurring in Asia today, and the fastest growing epidemic is happening in Eastern Europe," Piot said. "The virus is running faster than all of us."
In revised estimates, the report says about 38 million people are infected.
Although there have been successes and money is starting to flow, the cost of tackling the pandemic has risen. Two years ago, the United Nations said fighting the pandemic would cost $10 billion a year by 2005. Now that figure is $12 bil
lion, Piot said.
The London-based aid agency ActionAid termed the latest figures "depressing and worrying."
"Business as usual cannot remain the answer," the group
said
.
Among the reported successes: many countries have reduced HIV infections, medicine prices have dropped dramatica
lly, money is beginning to flow and medicines are becoming increasingly available in poor countries.
Among the major challenges are improving the plight of women, keeping health workers in the developing world and caring for children orphaned by AIDS.
The epidemics in Central Asia and Eastern Europe are being driven by intravenous drug users. About 1.3 million people there have HIV, compared with 160,000 in 1995.
Skara Brae,
madkins
Chance is a word that does not make sense. Nothing happens without a cause.
Voltaire(1694-1778)
Associated Press
Wednesday, July 7, 2004
UN: AIDS winning battle; record 5M infected in '03
The cost of tackling the pandemic is estimated at $12 billion a year by 2005.
LONDON - The world is losing the race against AIDS, which last year infected a record 5 million people and killed an unprecedented 3 million, the United Nations reported yesterday.
The virus has now pushed deep into Eastern Europe and Asia, and tackling it will be more expensive than previously believed, according to the most accurate picture to date of t
e global status of HIV infections.
Nine out of 10 people who urgently need treatment are not getting it, and prevention is only reaching 1 in 5 at risk, the report said.
The AIDS epidemic is n
ow entering its globalization phase, said UNAIDS chief Dr.
Peter Piot at the launch of the agency's report, which is compiled every two years.
"AIDS is truly a disease of our globalized world. Whereas until recently AIDS was largely a problem for sub-Saharan Africa, 1 out of every 4 new infections is occurring in Asia today, and the fastest growing epidemic is happening in Eastern Europe," Piot said. "The virus is running faster than all of us."
In revised estimates, the report says about 38 million people are infected.
Although there have been successes and money is starting to flow, the cost of tackling the pandemic has risen. Two years ago, the United Nations said fighting the pandemic would cost $10 billion a year by 2005. Now that figure is $12 bil
lion, Piot said.
The London-based aid agency ActionAid termed the latest figures "depressing and worrying."
"Business as usual cannot remain the answer," the group
said
.
Among the reported successes: many countries have reduced HIV infections, medicine prices have dropped dramatica
lly, money is beginning to flow and medicines are becoming increasingly available in poor countries.
Among the major challenges are improving the plight of women, keeping health workers in the developing world and caring for children orphaned by AIDS.
The epidemics in Central Asia and Eastern Europe are being driven by intravenous drug users. About 1.3 million people there have HIV, compared with 160,000 in 1995.
Skara Brae,
madkins