This revised and updated edition of the pathbreaking report on the global AIDS epidemic outlines the strategic role that government must play in slowing the spread of HIV and mitigating the impact of AIDS. Drawing on the knowledge accumulated in the 17 years since the virus that causes AIDS was first identified, the report highlights policies that are most likely to be effective in managing the epidemic. These include early actions to minimize the spread of the virus, aiming preventive interventions at high risk groups, and evaluating measures that would assist households affected by AIDS according to the same standards applied to other health issues. This revised edition will a valuable resource for public health, policymakers, researchers, and anyone with an interest in this devastating global health crisis.

Hearing on the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus, which has become the No. 1 killer of people aged 16-45 in most of the world's nations. Witnesses: Anthony Fauci, Nat. Inst. of Allergy & Infectious Diseases; Deborah Birx, U.S. Mil. HIV Research Prog.; Paul De Lay, Chief of HIV/AIDS Div., U.S. Agency for Internat. Develop.; Peter Piot, Exec. Dir., UNAIDS; Nils Daulaire, Pres., Nat. Council for Internat. Health/Global Health Council; Peter Young, HIV & Opportunistic Infections Therapeutic Develop. & Product Strategy, Glaxo Wellcome R&D; & Michael Merson, Dean of Public Health & Prof., Dept. of Epidemiology & Public Health, Yale Univ. School of Med.

The past century has been marked by rapid advances in human welfare. People in most parts of the world are healthier and are living longer. While this trend is likely to continue, hopes are fading in some regions where progress slowed or stopped in the1990s, primarily as a result of the AIDS epidemic. This compilation of articles published over the past five years in the pages of F&D looks at the important links between health and economic progress. Articles range over a variety of topics, from the Millennium Development Goals and their health-related targets for 2015 to the economics of tobacco control. Several articles examine the impact of AIDS and the global reaction, while others look at debt and the intellectual property aspects of health care.

Since the 1980s HIV/AIDS has occupied a singular position because of the rapidly emergent threat and devastation the disease has caused, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. New infections continue to create a formidable challenge to households, communities, and health systems: last year alone, 2.7 million new infections occurred globally. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicenter of the suffering, with around two-thirds of infected individuals worldwide found there, and a disproportionate number of deaths and new infections. For years there have been widespread and concerted efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, identify a cure, and understand and mitigate the deleterious social and economic ramifications of the disease. Despite these efforts, and some apparent successes, there is still a long way to go in terms of altering behaviors in order to realize the objective of dramatic reductions in the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa. The authors in this volume examine the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa, which persists despite major strides in averting deaths due to antiretroviral therapy. They tell an important story of the distinct nature of the disease and its socioeconomic implications.