Universal Access to HIV Treatment by 2010 Unlikely
Achieving universal access to anti-HIV drugs and treatment by 2010 is unlikely to be reached by every nation across the globe, two leading officials said August 6 at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, Agence France-Presse reports.
Peter Piot, MD, head of UNAIDS, and Michel Kazatchkine, MD, chief of Global Fund, also said that some fast-advancing economies such as China could shoulder more of their own medical costs in the future, which would free up resources for countries mired in poverty.
“2010 is 18 months from now,” Dr. Piot said. “What we’ve seen is that in a number of countries, they’ve already reached their universal access targets, others not.”
The 2010 target of universal access to HIV drugs was established in June 2006 by a U.N. General Assembly resolution and supported by the Group of Eight.
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Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
