WHO Highlights Need for Increased AIDS Treatment

A report released
by the World Health Organization/UNAIDS/UNICEF on
Monday highlighted the importance of continuing to increase
the number of people being treated with antiretroviral
drugs as the number of people living with HIV/AIDS
continues to rise.

Nearly 10 million
of the 33 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS
are in immediate need of treatment, AIDS Healthcare
Foundation president Michael Weinstein said in a press
release. He also noted that the report shows that at
least 2 million more people will contract the virus without
proper prevention.

“Without
aggressive, immediate, and widespread scale-up of the
delivery of [antiretrovirals], we believe this trend
will quickly erase any treatment gains WHO and other
global leaders have claimed over the past
year,” he said in the statement. “During the
past several months, AHF has been urging Congress to
preserve the requirement for a priority on treatment
in [the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief]."

Doctors and
health care workers from Africa traveled to Washington last
month to share their experiences with U.S. senators and
other government officials of treating AIDS patients
in their countries. Their meetings were an attempt to
increase awareness of the problem and ensure that the
availability of antiretroviral drugs in their countries
will continue to improve. (The Advocate)