Optimism in the North, growing numbers in the South

People living with HIV in the developed countries of North America, Europe, and Australia have more reason than at any other time in the epidemic's history to be optimistic about being able to live longer and more productively. In those countries, most people either enjoy health insurance or have access to a variety of forms of public health care. There is no question, of course, that far too many people still slip through the cracks in even the developed countries' health care systems. But the HIV statistics and the lives of people living with HIV in developing countries can seem almost like reports from another world. Ninety percent or more of the people with HIV live in the developing countries of Africa and Asia, where health care budgets and facilities are a tiny fraction of those in North America or Europe. Below are a few of the facts of life for people with HIV in developing areas.