Are we spending too much on HIV?

doi:10.1136/bmj.39113.539595.94

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Paul de Lay, director, evaluation department,
Robert Greener, economics adviser,
Jose Antonio Izazola, senior adviser, resource and finance analysis

UNAIDS, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland

Correspondence to: P de Lay communications{at}unaids.org

Billions of pounds are being spent on the fight against AIDS in developing countries. Roger England believes that much of the money could be better used elsewhere, whereas Paul de Lay and colleagues argue that current spending is not enough

AIDS is widely acknowledged as a public health crisis and is now one of the make or break forces of this century, as measured by both its actual effect and potential threat to the survival and wellbeing of people worldwide.1 In 2005, the UN Human Development Report concluded that “the AIDS pandemic has inflicted the single greatest reversal in human development.”2 In that year, AIDS caused a fifth of deaths globally in people aged 15-49 years. Within the next five years, every seventh child in the worst affected sub-Saharan countries will be an orphan, largely because of AIDS. By 2010, an estimated 9 million people will need antiretroviral treatment.3