WHO director
apologizes for missing HIV treatment goal

World Health Organization director Jim Yong Kim apologized on Monday for the failure of the organization to reach its goal of having 3 million HIV-positive people in poor nations on antiretroviral therapy by the end of the year, BBC News reports. The "3 by 5" initiative has managed to get anti-HIV drugs to about 1 million HIV-positive people, only one third of its goal, according to a WHO report released earlier this year. But the report also noted that the health organization has made enormous strides in improving the health care infrastructures in many poor countries, which is a key to being able to successfully and consistently get antiretroviral medications to poor HIV patients who need them.

"All we can do is apologize," Kim said of missing the initiative's goal. "I have to say that I'm personally extremely disappointed in myself and in my colleagues because we have not moved quickly enough--we have not saved enough lives."

A report released last week by WHO and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS showed that there were about 5 million new HIV infections worldwide in 2005, the highest number on record. About 3 million people died of AIDS-related causes this year. (Advocate.com)