Putting It Together: AIDS and the Millennium Development Goals

In preparation for the September 2005 United Nations World Summit, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) commissioned a literature review to study where HIV/AIDS is having the greatest impact on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The authors looked at four of the eight MDGs to see how progress is affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Findings, as summarised by the publishers, include:

MDG #1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by 2015 is a critical MDG, but recent research in 44 sub-Saharan countries (those hit hardest by the epidemic) shows a direct inverse relationship between the HIV prevalence rates and calorie/protein consumption. Furthermore, other studies have shown that the more than 15 million children orphaned by AIDS - the majority of whom are in sub-Saharan Africa - are more likely to live in poverty and be malnourished than non-orphans. According to some estimates, in 2001 there were approximately 11 million children orphaned by AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa; at the current rate that number is expected to nearly double to 20 million by 2010.

MDG #2: Achieve universal primary education

This MDG seeks to ensure that all boys and girls receive a complete primary school education. The HIV/AIDS epidemic, however, hinders this target in a variety of ways. A large number of children in heavily-affected areas are forced to withdraw from school because they are crippled by the illness, cannot afford school fees, must work to support their families financially, or must stay at home to take care of family members stricken with HIV or AIDS. Many educators are also infected with or have died from HIV/AIDS, further straining the developing countries’ educational systems by leaving a severe shortage of teachers.

MDG #4: Reduce child mortality

In 2003, 10.6 million children under the age of five died, 44% of them in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2002, nearly 10% of all under-five deaths in this region could be attributed to HIV/AIDS. MDG #4 seeks to reduce the mortality rate of children under five by two-thirds, but HIV/AIDS presents a considerable obstacle. Children who are infected with HIV - mostly through perinatal transmission - eventually die of AIDS, and communities already weakened by AIDS have do not have adequate healthcare capacity and infrastructure to prevent HIV-positive children from becoming susceptible to illness and death from other causes.

MDG #6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

This MDG seeks to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and other diseases, including malaria and tuberculosis (TB). It is becoming more challenging to treat HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis separately, however, as the rate of HIV/TB co-infection is increasing rapidly. Of the 40 million people currently living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, approximately one-third are also infected with TB. HIV/AIDS compromises the immune system, thereby making individuals more susceptible to TB infection and increasing the difficulty of effectively treating either illness.

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