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Brazil
Prevention: A strong government commitment, including media
campaigns, free condom distribution, free needle exchanges and
social services for prostitutes, has resulted in a prevalence
rate that has been declining since 1997.
Treatment: National law calls for free, universal access to
care, including antiretroviral drugs. The Brazilian government
now manufactures generic drugs and distributes them free of
charge to all patients in need, who currently number approximately
135,000.
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Haiti
Prevention: Government-led campaigns, including nationwide condom
distribution and efforts to combat mother-to-infant transmission,
have helped cut Haiti's HIV rate. However, Haiti's prevalence
rate, approximately 5 percent, remains the highest in the Western
Hemisphere.
Treatment: Political turmoil prevents effective government-led treatment programs.
But Partners in Health, a U.S.-based NGO, and its Haitian sister
organization, Zanmi Lasante, help provide antiretroviral drug
treatment to approximately 400 HIV patients. There are no current
estimates available on the number of people in need of treatment.
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United States
Prevention: The U.S. government has spent more than $900 million
a year on HIV prevention programs since 2000, but studies in
2002 suggest that the number of new HIV infections rose by 2
percent between 2001 and 2002, the first increase in a decade.
The Centers for Disease Control have called for making HIV testing
a routine part of all medical care.
Treatment: Advancements in treatment, particularly in antiretroviral drugs,
helped reduce the AIDS-related mortality rate by 70 percent
between 1995 and 2002, although recent statistics show this
decline is tapering.
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South Africa
Prevention: South Africa's prevalence rate continues to climb
because of a relative lack of government planning and implementation.
Civilian outcry and activism prompted the government to launch
a nationwide educational awareness program in 2001.
Treatment: In 2003, South Africa's government approved a plan for the public
administration of antiretroviral drugs. Only 1,500 people are
currently receiving the drugs, although more than 500,000 are
in need.
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Botswana
Prevention: The government has established a nationwide network
of voluntary counseling and testing centers, and in 2003, 65,000
people visited the centers. But the social stigma surrounding
HIV/AIDS has prevented many people from seeking these services,
even though HIV testing is now a routine part of checkups.
Treatment: In 2002, Botswana became the first African country to provide antiretroviral
therapy on a national scale. An estimated 14,000 people are
now receiving treatment, although an estimated 110,000 more
are in need.
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Senegal
Prevention: Senegal is one of the few African countries to contain
the spread of AIDS, maintaining a prevalence rate of less than
2 percent. Government prevention efforts have focused on requiring
prostitutes to register for routine HIV tests and encouraging
condom use.
Treatment: Senegal was the first African country to negotiate
a 90 percent reduction rate in the cost of antiretroviral drugs.
These drugs are now made available free of charge to pregnant
women living with AIDS.
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Uganda
Prevention: The government's approach of promoting abstinence,
monogamy and condom use is credited with a 66 percent decrease
in the HIV prevalence rate between 1991 and 2001.
Treatment: Lack of human resources prevents effective treatment, with health
services reaching less than half of the population. Between
100,000 and 220,000 people are in need of antiretroviral drugs,
but the drugs remain too expensive for most Ugandans, and the
government offers no subsidies.
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Nigeria
Prevention: HIV/AIDS policies, which have been in place since
1997, are focused on raising awareness and promoting condom
use. A national policy mandating a central body to coordinate
and facilitate the national HIV response was launched in 2003.
Treatment: In 2002, the government began offering antiretroviral drugs to
14,000 patients at discounted prices. Supplies of the drugs
ran out in September 2003, but resumed by March 2004. An estimated
1,500,000 people are in need of the drugs, which means that
less than 1 percent of those who need the drugs currently receive
them.
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Russia
Prevention: Prevention efforts are hampered by lack of funding
and lack of political will. Consequently, HIV cases have exploded
in recent years, doubling every year since 1998.
Treatment: Russian law mandates that all HIV-positive persons are entitled
to free treatment. But because of shallow resources, few government-run
treatment programs actually exist.
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India
Prevention: Since 1992, the government has supported voluntary
testing programs and awareness campaigns. But it has been criticized
for failing to recognize the scope of the problem, and the number
of HIV cases has risen sharply since the 1990s.
Treatment: India is a major producer of generic antiretroviral drugs, but
these remain too expensive for the vast majority of its people.
In April 2004, the government announced that free antiretroviral
drugs would be supplied to 10,000 patients. There are currently
no estimates of how many people are actually in need.
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China
Prevention: Poor public awareness, weak government support and
lack of resources contribute to the rising number of HIV cases.
In May 2004, the Chinese government called for mandatory AIDS
education classes in all middle schools and higher education
institutions.
Treatment: A pilot program is currently distributing free antiretroviral drugs
to 5,000 people in nine provinces, a tiny percentage of the
estimated 80,000 in need. China hopes to supply the drugs to
40,000 more people by 2008.
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Thailand
Prevention: The government has implemented a massive public
awareness campaign, including AIDS education classes in all
schools and a program to enforce condom use in the commercial
sex industry. Condom use among sex workers has risen from 14
percent to 90 percent. The number of new HIV infections reported
annually has dropped, from 140,000 in 1990 to 30,000 currently.
Treatment: Treatment, including testing and counseling, is limited and not
universally administered. An estimated 20,000 out of 200,000
AIDS patients are currently receiving free antiretroviral drug
treatment. But significant headway has been made in reducing
mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
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• HIV/AIDS
Across Time
• The
Global Impact of HIV/AIDS
• Prevention and Treatment in 12 Showcase Countries
• Return to Introduction
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Sources: UN AIDS; The World Health Organization; Kaiser Family Foundation;
Avert; AIDS Transparency; Partners in Health; The International
AIDS Vaccine Initiative; You and AIDS; China AIDS; CNN; PBS;
BBC; The Miami Herald; USA Today; The Los Angeles Times
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