Price cuts see HIV drug uptake, says WHO

The end of 2007 marked an important step in the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Nearly three million people are now receiving antiretroviral therapy in low- and middle-income countries, according to a new World Health Organization, UNAIDS and UNICEF report released on June 2.

Titled Towards Universal Access: Scaling Up Priority HIV/AIDS Interventions in the Health Sector , it also points to other gains. These include improved access to interventions aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), expanded testing and counselling, and greater country commitment to male circumcision in heavily affected regions of sub-Saharan Africa.

"This represents a remarkable achievement for public health," says WHO Director General Margaret Chan, adding that "this proves that, with commitment and determination, all obstacles can be overcome. People living in resource-constrained settings can indeed be brought back to economically and socially productive lives by these drugs."