World falling far short of AIDS drugs target

The world will fall far short of its 2010 target of providing universal access to HIV treatment, with India and Nigeria high in an "AIDS league of shame," a global voluntary group said on Monday.

In 2006, the U.N. General Assembly agreed to work towards universal access to treatment, care, prevention and support, following a declaration by Group of Eight countries the previous year.

In its report titled "Tackling political barriers to end AIDS," ActionAid International said India, South Africa and Nigeria -- the three nations with the highest caseloads -- have some of the lowest percentages of people receiving AIDS drugs.
"In developing countries, HIV/AIDS is a death sentence for those who don't get treatment," said Aditi Sharma, international campaign coordinator for AIDS at ActionAid.

ActionAid said only five million people around the world would be on AIDS drugs by 2010 at the current pace, which would be five million short of the target for universal access.

The group said only about two million of the estimated seven million people in need are on AIDS drugs at present.

The report says India, with the world's highest caseload, provides anti-AIDS drugs to only seven percent of HIV-positive people in need. India has 5.7 people living with HIV, according to UNAIDS.

Authorities provide only first-line AIDS drugs free in India, where the government plans to spend around 80 billion rupees ($2 billion) to combat AIDS in 2007-12.

In South Africa, which has an estimated 5.4 million people living with HIV, 18 percent of people in need of drugs are getting them.

In Nigeria, with a caseload of around 3.5 million people, just 10 percent requiring treatment get it, the group said.

Other African countries like Gambia, Ethiopia and Ghana also fare poorly, with less than 10 percent receiving treatment.

In Asia, Pakistan provides just 1.2 percent with advanced HIV with treatment, according to ActionAid.

"In country after country, progress is staggeringly slow and with just three years to go to 2010, the world is in danger of missing the target that gave hope to 40 million living with HIV and AIDS," Sharma said.