It must nudge the world's pharmaceutical behemoths to cut their AIDS-drug prices so that the people who need treatment the most can get it. And all while, it must struggle to hold down new HIV infections as it works to buttress hope and discourage public panic. The result is what you might expect-the release of truly horrific statistics every now and then, followed by benign expressions of hope along with a hard sell for some amazingly ambitious prevention programs. By 2004, AIDS could surpass the Black Death of the 14th Century and the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic to become the deadliest contagion in world history. Which brings us to prevention.
Condoms are a crucial element in prevention.
So are men who behave responsibly toward women. But such societal changes will happen at a glacial pace. So there's a need to press for more pragmatic solutions. Activists say the big drug firms have yet to get affordable medicine to people who need it most-despite a flurry of plans announced last summer. They also say the hardest-hit nations need more debt reduction.