It is a crisis of the first magnitude. Zambia's Gross National Product. The pharmaceutical companies continue to play with our emotions by offering free or cheap AIDS drugs on the front pages of the media but not delivering in practice. HIV has led to the premature death of more than 10 million people from AIDS worldwide. Access to treatment is essential in order to save the lives of more than 35 million people.
Treatments are available.
Endorsed by over 250 organisations worldwide, July 2000. The richer countries of the world have largely managed to control the disease through prevention programmes, quality medical care and good living standards. Where treatment and care are not available, being diagnosed HIV positive is little short of a death sentence - so many in Southern Africa don't get tested at all, preferring not to know. Despite high profile announcements, the big European and American drug companies are not doing enough to make sure that people in Southern Africa can gain access to the life-saving drugs they need. In fact they are pressing Western governments to impose trade rules that will restrict poor countries from buying the treatments cheaper from other countries or producing them cheaper themselves.