The principal modes of transmission of HIV, through sex and blood products, hasn't changed very much since the AIDS epidemic was first recognized in the early '80's. The major methods for blocking viral transmission remain the use of condoms, limit IV drug abuse, and test blood products for presence of HIV.

Although such prevention procedures have limited new HIV infections to ~40K/year in the U.S., there has been little success in reducing the spread of the AIDS virus worldwide. The reasons for these are numerous. Much recent attention has focussed on the subservient status of women worldwide and their inability to insist on the use of condoms. In subsaharan Africa where the AIDS epidemic has hit hardest, one is also dealing with political instability and wars in countries such as Zimbabwe and Liberia, leading to forced rape of women. Even in the best of times, the yearly health care expenditure per person is only ~$1 in many of these poor countries. In the case of the Union of South Africa, President Mbeki has publicly stated that HIV does not cause AIDS, and only recently has authorized conventional treatments for AIDS sufferers.

These conditions are duplicated, to a greater or lesser degree, throughout much of the third-world where HIV is spreading most rapidly.

If you're wondering who should be blamed, you don't have to look much further than the U.S., whose international response has been woeful. This indictment applies equally to the Republican (Reagan, George I and George II) and Democratic (Clinton) administrations. The much touted George W. worldwide AIDS initiative of "15-billion dollars" is a 5-year program, of which little has been spent and is likely to be tied to abstinence programs of limited utility.

-- Modified on 12/1/2003 5:12:57 PM

-- Modified on 12/1/2003 5:14:53 PM