Measuring HIV-AIDS, Preventing Its Toll

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization have been working with countries and experts to generate data to strengthen the AIDS response. But because most people do not know their HIV status, numbers cannot be obtained directly. Contrary to an April 10 editorial, there is no single source of data.

Only by analyzing various surveys can a realistic picture of the epidemic in any given country be obtained. But each source of data has strengths and weaknesses.

Population-based surveys can suffer from bias if infected people decline to be tested. For example, in South Africa and Botswana, 40 percent of the people have refused to participate in surveys. Despite these limitations, UNAIDS and WHO are confident that our estimates are the best available, and we are committed to improving the methods used.

Comprehensive prevention efforts, integrated with treatment programs, must reach those at highest risk of infection. In high-level epidemics, this may be an uninfected person who has an infected partner; elsewhere, it may be sex workers or injecting drug users.

Comparing the disadvantages of providing treatment to a person with AIDS with treating someone suffering from malaria creates a dangerous dichotomy. Both deserve treatment, without any tradeoffs.

PETER PIOT

Executive Director

Joint United Nations Programme

on HIV/AIDS

ANARFI ASAMOA-BAAH

Assistant Director-General

HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria