title: The challenge of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.
abstract: At the end of 1998, an estimated 67% of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world were in Sub-Saharan Africa--some 22.5 million people. The challenges posed by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in this resource--poor region are enormous. The most important is to reduce the number of new infections: simple interventions such as barrier methods of contraception and better treatment of sexually transmitted diseases must be implemented now whilst waiting for an effective vaccine. There is also a need to understand more comprehensively the clinical spectrum and natural history of the disease in the region. However, with an ever-growing demand for care caused by HIV/AIDS, probably the most compelling yet insoluble challenge is how to provide wider access to very costly specialist services, including antiretroviral therapy.
authors.affiliation: Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Gilks
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017954:Africa South of the Sahara / Q000453:epidemiology; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003906:Developing Countries; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents