Access to antiretrovirals in resource-poor settings a challenge

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is creating havoc on an unparalleled scale in numerous developing countries. Indeed, latest surveys suggest that more than 90% of an estimated 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS live in the developed world. Antiretroviral therapy, the mainstay of treatment for HIV/AIDS, is urgently needed by approximately 6 million people in these countries; however, less than 5% (230 000) receive this therapy. At the 14th International AIDS Conference [Barcelona, Spain; July 2002], an international research team presented their initial experiences with a pilot programme, the Cohort program to evaluate Access to anti-Retroviral therapy and Education (CARE), designed to provide much-needed antiretroviral therapy and comprehensive clinical care to low-cost and resource-poor settings in Africa.1