WHO meets its ambitious '3 by 5' target, although a tad late, writes Maria Cheng from London In 2003, the World Health Organisation began its ambitious '3 by 5' initiative to treat AIDS, promising to put three million infected people worldwide on anti-retroviral drugs within two years. According to a report issued on Monday, the WHO finally succeeded last year. Despite missing their deadline, officials were upbeat. "If every UN health target was met just two years late, the world would be a much better place," said Dr Kevin De Cock, director of WHO's AIDS department. In the last four years, the number of people on anti-AIDS drugs has increased by seven-and-a-half times, WHO, UNICEF and UNAIDS said. In Africa, the region hardest hit by AIDS, more than two million people are now receiving the lifesaving anti-retrovirals. About 100,000 were on the drugs in 2003. "A lot of people said we would never get to three million," said Mr Paul Zeitz, executive director of the Global AIDS Alliance, an advocacy group in Washington, DC. "This proves that it is possible to get treatment out, even in the hardest to reach places." Still, only 31 per cent of people worldwide who need anti-retrovirals receive them. And more people get infected every year than are put on treatment. The UN estimates that there are about 33 million people living with HIV and that there were roughly 2.5 million new infections last year. "There are millions of people still standing in line waiting to get therapy," Dr Cock said. One of the biggest obstacles is that many people with HIV aren't aware of their status. Diagnosing HIV and treating patients remains a problem even in rich countries. In the United States, only 55 per cent of people who require AIDS drugs get them. The numbers of people needing anti-retrovirals may change if WHO's treatment guidelines change, or if there are new estimates of the numbers of people infected. Dr Cock said WHO may consider recommending that people with HIV receive anti-retrovirals earlier. That would mean an instant jump in the numbers of people needing the drugs, as more people would automatically qualify. Now that WHO's treatment target has been met, some experts worry that the interest in fighting AIDS will evaporate. In 2005, leaders of the Group of Eight industrialised nations vowed to invest more in AIDS treatment. "Wealthy nations like the UK, Japan and France have all backed off and have not shown any interest in reaffirming the goal of universal access," Mr Zeitz said. However, Britain announced on Monday it intends to spend nearly $ 12 billion over the next seven years on responding to AIDS in poor countries. WHO has no plans to launch any future AIDS treatment initiatives like "3 by 5". To curb the epidemic, WHO and partners are calling for preventive measures including more HIV testing and male circumcision, which can cut men's chances of catching HIV by up to 60 per cent. Because anti-AIDS drugs must be taken for life, the price of fighting AIDS will almost certainly rise in the future, as the emergence of drug resistant strains will require more expensive drugs. WHO estimates that to meet treatment needs, funding will have to more than quadruple to $ 35 billion in 2010. -- AP For any comments, queries or feedback, kindly mail us at pioneerletters@yahoo.co.in