Gates Package — page 554

HIV Drug Prices Down, Treatment Up Since 2000, HIV drug prices have fallen by more than 99 percent, while the number of people on treatment has risen dramatically to approximately eight million. Dollars in thousands Antiretroviral drug cost per patient per year I Number of people on treatment 7,500 6,000 4,500 People in thousands 3,000 1,500 SOURCE: UNAIDS, World Health Organization & Medicins Sans Frontiéres Though I am an optimist, I am not blind to the problems we face. There are challenges we must overcome to speed up progress in the next 15 years. Two that worry me the most are the possibility that we won't be able to raise the funds needed to pay for health and development projects, and that we won't align around clear goals to help the poorest. Halving Extreme Poverty The World Bank estimates that the percentage of people living on less than $1.25 per day has fallen by half since 1990, marking the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal target to reduce poverty before the 2015 deadline. 45 -- 3 30 -- S § a a= (Projected) 'SOURCE: The World Bank The good news on resources is that many developing countries have growing economies that allow them to devote more resources to helping their poorest people. India, for example, is less dependent on aid and will eventually not need it. Some countries, like the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Korea, and Australia, are increasing their aid; others, even traditionally generous givers like Japan and the Netherlands, have reduced it. The direction in many countries, including the United States, France, Germany, and Canada, is unclear. Still, aid is critical. It helps meet the basic needs of people in the poorest countries. It funds innovation--in the creation of new tools and services and in their delivery. Unfortunately, aid generosity is threatened by big deficits in almost all of