HIV/AIDS drug costs "will be $4.4B/year"

The United Nations has estimated that fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic inthe world's poorest countries will soon cost $9.2 billion a year, with $4.4 billion going on treatment and $4.8 billion on prevention.

The estimates, which were published ahead of the UN special session on HIV/AIDS in New York, USA, on June 25-27 (see page 17), also estimated that the cost of antiretroviral drugs would take 12.5% of the total spend in the first year, rising to 25% of the total by 2005.