Global Progress on AIDS

To the Editor:

Re “U.N. Cites Global Rise in Detection and Treatment of AIDS” (news article, Oct. 1):

The United Nations AIDS report showing that 42 percent of H.I.V.-positive people in the developing world now have access to antiretroviral drugs is a testament to what can be accomplished with adequate resources and a results-oriented response to global health challenges.

A study from Stanford University indicates that the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or Pepfar, has averted 1.2 million deaths, and in only four years (2003-07) cut the H.I.V.-AIDS death toll by 10.5 percent in targeted countries.

Numerous studies also document the benefits our AIDS response is having in other areas of the global health sector, including country health systems, vaccination, family planning, tuberculosis detection and treatment, as well as decreases in infant and maternal mortality rates.

We are seeing dramatic returns from our investments in global health, and going forward we must build on current successes, like the response to H.I.V.-AIDS, and expand the reach of health services globally.

Chris Collins
Washington, Oct. 2, 2009

The writer is vice president and director of public policy at amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.