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)