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World Health Organisation changes its tune on the AIDS epidemic
Red Ribbon
Heterosexual AIDS epidemic didn't happen says World Health Organisation
"The AIDS epidemic is confined to high-risk groups including men who have sex with men"
The threat of a global heterosexual AIDS pandemic has not materialised as predicted, according to the World Health Organisation. Now calls are being made to redirect funds from generalised prevention campaigns in favour of those groups identified as high risk: namely gay men, drug users and prostitutes.
"Ten years ago a lot of people were saying there will be a generalised epidemic in Asia - China was the big worry, with its huge population" says Dr. Kevin De Cock, the head of WHO's department of HIV and AIDS. "But that doesn't seem to have happened... Whereas once it was seen as a risk to populations everywhere it is now recognised that outside of sub-Saharan Africa, it is confined to high-risk groups including men who have sex with men, injecting drug users, and sex workers and their clients."
The rethinking doesn't, however, change the fact that AIDS is still responsible for more deaths than all the world's wars combined, most of those heterosexual Africans and that a third of those affected are not being treated. "AIDS still remains the leading infectious disease challenge in public health," says Dr. De Cock, to counter arguments that money is being diverted away from other diseases such as malaria towards AIDS prevention and treatment. "People are backing off, saying it is taking care of itself. It is not."
