The 2004 World Health Report, entitled Changing History published by the WHO calls for a comprehensive HIV/AIDS strategy that links prevention, treatment, care and long-term support.
At a crucial moment in the pandemic’s history, the international community has an unprecedented opportunity to alter its course and simultaneously fortify health systems for the enduring benefit of all.
The WHO says that effectively tackling HIV/AIDS is the world’s most urgent public health challenge. Already, the disease has killed more than 20 million people. Today, an estimated 34-46 million others are living with HIV/AIDS. In 2003, 3 million people died and 5 million others became infected. Unknown a quarter of a century ago, HIV/AIDS is now the leading cause of death and lost years of productive life for adults aged 15-59 years worldwide.
The report shows how international organizations, national governments, the private sector and communities can combine their strengths to expand access to HIV/AIDS treatment, reinforce HIV prevention and strengthen health systems.
The global HIV/AIDS treatment gap reflects wider patterns of inequality in health and is a test of the international community’s commitment to tackle these inequalities. Beyond working to save millions of lives under immediate threat, WHO and its partners are confronting a broad range of health problems that afflict poor communities and keep them poor, viewing HIV/AIDS treatment expansion and the Millennium Development Goals as steps on the road to Health for All.
