Access and activism: the ethics of providing antiretroviral therapy in developing countries

Last years XIII International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, marked a paradigm shift. Held for the first time on the continent worst affected by AIDS, the conference focused the eyes of the world on the plight of the more than 30 million people living with HIV/AIDS in poor countries. Leading scientists, government agencies and activists all argued that it is no longer acceptable that the vast majority of people with HIV/AIDS are left without treatment. Thanks to determined advocacy by people living with HIV/AIDS, non-governmental organizations (NGO) and other pressure groups, the provision of affordable treatment, in particular, antiretroviral therapy (ART), is now a worldwide concern.