UN says 4 Million People from Poor Countries Received AIDS Drugs Last Year

Boston (DbTechNo) – Results of a report released by the United Nations show that over the last 5 years, the number of HIV infected people living in poor countries receiving life saving drugs has risen 10 times.

The report was put together by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The report states that over the last 5 years, more than 4 million people living in poor countries received AIDS drugs, the majority of whom from sub-Saharan Africa where the majority of HIV cases are documented.

“We have invested a lot of funds into HIV/AIDS, but it has been a worthwhile investment because we have saved lives,” said Dr. Teguest Guerma, WHO’s acting AIDS director.

Despite the growing numbers of people receiving life saving drugs, it is estimated that only half of the people who need these drugs are actually receiving them, meaning that more needs to be done to reach out to all who are infected with the virus.

HIV currently has no cure, but there are antiretroviral drugs on the market to slow down the progression of the disease.

“Even though some of the data are not fully clear and there are some unanswered questions, this is a dramatic improvement,” said Daniel Halperin, an AIDS expert at Harvard University. “It shows that all this money that has gone to treatment has made some difference.”

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