Consensus Statement on Antiretroviral Treatment for AIDS in Poor Countries

Overview: The worldwide AIDS pandemic continues to gather force. An estimated 36 million people are infected with HIV and face disease and early death unless they receive appropriate life-extending medical care. In addition to tremendous human suffering, the pandemic has become a major cause of social, political and economic instability.

In wealthy countries, there has been dramatic success in the fight against HIV/AIDS, success that has been largely achieved through the use of antiretroviral therapy. Those with access to this treatment have enjoyed tremendous gains in survival and quality of life. Yes despite this success, antiretroviral therapy remains largely inaccessible in the world's poorest countries, where interventions have focused almost exclusively on prevention.

contd... [read the full statement in PDF form on the right-hand side under Related documents]