HIV/AIDS: Time to base public policy on rights

Source: By Zofeen Ebrahim With 22,000 experts and activists gathered in Mexico City for the International AIDS Conference, policy makers should not have a hard time finding examples of best practices and lessons learned from all over the globe. August 2008.[ Forty million people in the world are living with AIDS. Most of them are in developing countries; women and children are the most affected. The development of new medicines has made it possible for people suffering from this disease to extend their lifespan and improve their quality of life. But this is only true for people in industrialized countries. Those born in the South are not so lucky: 95% live and die without ever accessing proper treatment. According to the report “AIDS epidemic update 2003” published by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization, “urgent efforts... [read full story]