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Commentary

Nature Medicine 9, 1449 - 1452 (2003)
doi:10.1038/nm1203-1449

Antiretroviral treatment for HIV infection in developing countries: an attainable new paradigm

J P Moatti1, I N'Doye2, S M Hammer3, P Hale4 & M Kazatchkine5

  1. J.P. Moatti is at the Université de la Méditerrannée & INSERM Research Unit 379, Marseilles, France 13008
  2. I. N'Doye is at the Programme National de Lutte contre le SIDA, Dakar, Sénégal BP154
  3. S.M. Hammer is in the Division of Infectious Diseases, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA
  4. P. Hale is at Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, INSERM Research Unit 430, Paris 75908, France
  5. M. Kazatchkine is at the Université René Descartes Paris V & Agence Nationale de Recherches sur le SIDA (ANRS), Paris 75013, France.

Correspondence to: J P Moatti1 e-mail: moatti@marseille.inserm.fr

Scaling up access to antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) for HIV-infected adults and children in developing countries can no longer be refused for medical or economic reasons, or on the grounds of inequality, lack of infrastructure, risk of viral resistance or alternative priorities. Access to ARVs is an appropriate, rational and cost-effective investment choice in developing countries.

An estimated 5–6 million people living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries are in immediate need of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs)1. The failure to deliver drugs to these people has recently been declared "a global health emergency" by World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Jong-Wook Lee.

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