This is a picture of a HIV-positive woman in South Africa Antiretrovirals (ARVs) are the main type of treatment for HIV or AIDS. They are not a cure, but can stop people from becoming ill for many years. The treatment consists of drugs that have to be taken every day for the rest of someone's life. There are estimated to be 50,000 people accessing ARVs in Sub Saharan Africa, as of December 2002. The estimated need is 4.1 million people. This gives a present coverage rate of just 1%. North Africa and the Middle East have a coverage rate of 29% and Latin America and the Caribbean have a rate of 53%. Sub Saharan Africa is clearly lagging a long way behind the rest of the world when it comes to accessing ARVs. Whilst there are still major problems in accessing ARVs in Sub Saharan Africa, many significant developments have been made in the last few years. More about using antiretroviral drugs in Africa can be found at www.avert.org/aidsdrugsafrica2.htm

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Photo credit: � AVERT