As we all know HIV/AIDS has unfolded along a pattern we tend to see only in nightmares. It was spread faster and with more catastrophic long-term effects thanContact one of NOAF Trustees any other disease. It took the world too long to wake up. Millions paid with their lives.’ - Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan

HIV is a nightmare that isnt going away. 33 million people in the world are infected with HIV. Africa is worst-hit, Asia is suffering, but it HIV affects the whole world. Or put another way, approximately 25 people will have died of AIDS by the time you finish this article – that’s one every 15 seconds, 6,000 every day, 2.1 million every year.
But the horrifying truth is that it doesnt need to be this way. Once HIV was a death sentence but now drugs called antiretrovirals (ARVs) can keep HIV in check, making it a manageable condition, a bit like diabetes

People with HIV can live a normal life – but only if they have access to ARVs. Yet millions in the developing world either cant afford them, or do not realise they need them because they dont know their status. And the drugs dont always work properly if a person doesnt eat enough as our new report discovers. Also poverty and ignorance leads many people to avoid taking the test. Those who don’t get tested, never know they’re HIV positive, and never get treated. The ultimate price of this is death. Because sexually-transmitted infections – and sex in general – can be so hard to talk about, governments often don’t like to deal with HIV. At least not until the problem is already out of control. HIV isnt getting the political priority it needs.

In country after country weve seen development progress undone by HIV. The epidemic is undermining everything weve achieved for more than 50 years. Its the mDay but every day.ost serious, long-term emergency weve ever experienced. Thats why we need to keep fighting - not just on World AIDS