Arguably the single greatest threat to poverty reduction and human development today is the spread of HIV/AIDS pandemic. Every year, about five million people are infected with the disease, and more than three million people die. Since HIV/AIDS first started spreading, around 30 million people have died from the virus, creating millions of ‘AIDS orphans’ who have lost their parents to the disease. 40 million people currently live with the virus. Treating those infected with the virus, and preventing future cases is absolutely necessary to alleviate poverty.

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Red ribbons are often used as displays of support for victims of AIDS.

HIV/AIDS is an infectious disease that is spread through certain contact with bodily fluids that contain the HIV/AIDS virus (for example, if HIV-infected blood from one person is transferred to another, perhaps through an unclean needle during a medical operation, the recipient can contract the virus).

When first infected, individuals get only HIV – Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which attacks the immune system (the body’s protection against disease). Eventually, HIV leads to AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, which leaves infected individuals extremely vulnerable to other diseases. In most cases, individuals who contract AIDS die within a few months.

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AIDS has a huge negative effect on poverty reduction. Generally, HIV/AIDS affects people who are young or middle-aged – their most productive years. Often, those affected by AIDS are the primary wage-earners in their family, and their sickness (or death) can deny the family most of its income, driving them into poverty.

This loss of productivity has a huge effect on the economy of countries affected by AIDS. In sub-Saharan Africa, which has by far the worst HIV/AIDS problem, Gross Domestic Product per capita is expected to drop by 8% by 2010 in badly affected countries. According to one study by the UNAIDS organization, “at the end of a 20-year period a typical sub-Saharan African country with an HIV prevalence rate of 20% would have a 67% lower GDP than would be the case without AIDS.”

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Due to the seriousness of the AIDS pandemic, HIV/AIDS is increasingly being addressed in goals set by organizations like the United Nations. The Millennium Development Goals call for a reversal of the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015, and in 2001, almost 190 countries expressed their support for the ‘Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS.’ Also, several countries have banded together to support what they call ‘The Three Ones,’ which aims to create a universal plan to halt HIV/AIDS that can be used in many countries at once.

Perhaps the most ambitious goal, however, was set at the 2005 United Nations World Summit. There, countries pledged to give HIV/AIDS victims universal access to treatment and prevention programs by 2010.

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[click image to expand to full size] - This image opens a chart that shows some facts about HIV/AIDS.

Currently, special combinations of drugs referred to as ‘Anti-Retroviral Drugs,’ or ARVs, can be used to increase the lifespan of those with HIV/AIDS by decades, and to slow the transformation of HIV into AIDS. These drugs, however, can be very expensive, and therefore out of the reach of most people in the developing world (it is estimated that only 15% of infected individuals in developing countries have access to ARV treatment). However, generic drug manufacturers, such as the Indian company Cipla, have managed to bring costs of these drug treatments down dramatically – one of Cipla’s ARV drug combinations costs only $140 a year in developing countries. Also, in 2003, the World Health Organization and UNAIDS (a partnership of United Nations programs that works to fight AIDS) created the ‘3-by-5’ initiative. The initiative worked to give three million people access to ARV drug combinations by the end of 2005.

In addition to UNAIDS (which works in 75 countries around the world in conjunction with its member organizations, including UNICEF, the UNDP, and the World Bank), other organizations, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria have contributed to increasing AIDS treatment in developing countries. The Global Fund plans to give 1.8 million people access to ARVs, provide free counseling and HIV-testing to 62 million people, and care for over one million AIDS orphans. The World Bank is lending a hand too – it has lent more than $1.8 billion to fight HIV/AIDS around the world.

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In the long run, prevention is the best way to combat AIDS. In developing countries, many people do not know how HIV/AIDS is spread. In some areas, AIDS is thought to be spread through supernatural forces. By educating poor populations about the dangers of HIV/AIDS, infection rates can be greatly reduced. Also, educating students in schools has been shown to help as well. More than a third of all those infected with AIDS are under the age of 25, and by addressing the issue in school, governments and organizations can ensure that their message is heard.

UNICEF is one of the biggest supporter of this type of prevention and education. It conducts HIV/AIDS programs directed toward children in 71 countries. The programs include traditional education courses, theatrical groups, and the promotion of responsible actions and other life skills when it comes to HIV/AIDS.

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AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2005 (PDF). 2005.

Asian Development Bank. Asia's Economies and the Challenge of AIDS (PDF). 2004.

Bloom, David. Health, Wealth, AIDS and Poverty (PDF). 2002.

International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. 2006.

CBC News: 14,000 new HIV cases a day . 2003.

Community Partners. What is the Difference Between HIV and AIDS?. 2006.

The Global Fund: Fighting AIDS. 2006.

Gates Foundation: Global Health: HIV/AIDS. 2005.

Preventing HIV Infections in Women and Young Children. 2002.

UNAIDS: Uniting the World Against AIDS. 2006.

UNICEF: HIV/AIDS: Prevention Among Young People. 2005.

WHO: Universal Access by 2010. 2006.

Wikipedia: AIDS. 2006.

Wikipedia: Antiretroviral Drug. 2006.

World Bank Intensifies Action Against HIV/AIDS. 2005.

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