The global impact of HIV/AIDS

The scale of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS epidemic has excee ded all expectations since its identification 20 years ago. Globally, an es timated 36 million people are currently living with HIV, and some 20 millio n people have already died, with the worst of the epidemic centred on sub-S aharan Africa. But just as the spread of HIV has been greater than predicte d, so too has been its impact on social capital, population structure and e conomic growth. Responding to AIDS on a scale commensurate with the epidemi c is a global imperative, and the tools for an effective response are known . Nothing less than a sustained social mobilization is necessary to combat one of the most serious crises facing human development.