NPR Examines Whether Goal of Treating All HIV-Positive People With ARVs Is Feasible

Noting new guidelines released at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington, D.C., this week "call for everybody with HIV to be started on antiretroviral drugs [ARVs] as soon as they test positive for the virus," NPR's "Shots" blog examines "whether the goal is achievable, and who would pay for this enormous expansion in treatment." "Right now about eight million people across the world are getting treated for HIV at a cost of around $17 billion a year," the blog writes, adding, "Universal treatment would cost another $22 billion, by some estimates." The blog notes Bernhard Schwartlander, director for evidence, strategy and results at UNAIDS, in a plenary speech at the conference on Tuesday "offered up several possible ways to raise the money," including a tax on shipping and aviation fuel (Knox, 7/26).