With the annual World AIDS Day coming up on Wednesday, the media is awash with reports of last week’s New England Journal of Medicine study showing that antiretroviral drugs that control HIV in infected people can also help prevent new infections.

But the heightened media attention in the last week is likely an anomaly. According to a European team of researchers, coverage of HIV– and AIDS-related topics in the print news media has fallen by more than 70% in developed countries over the last 20 years.

A survey of 115 leading newspapers from around the world revealed that around 1.5 articles linked to HIV/AIDS were published on average each day in the early 1990s, compared with fewer than 0.5 articles per newspaper issue today. In contrast, news stories related to climate change have increased more than ten-fold over the same period, leading to an increased focus on curbing carbon emissions in the political and social agenda of Western countries.

The authors argue that the constant media reminders about climate change have helped elevate global warming to the top of the sustainability agenda. This can be seen, for example, in carbon capping legislation getting passed in Europe and entering the national debate in the US. By comparison, HIV/AIDS is a critical issue affecting much of the developing world, but without the onslaught of press coverage, governments in the developed world have not prioritized the issue. The results of the study are due to be published on 1 December on a new website: trendsinsustainability.com.

Relegating HIV/AIDS to a low position on the political totem pole has likely been a key driver in the public health emergency that is plaguing sub-Saharan Africa. According to a report out today from the US Institute of Medicine (IOM), by the end of 2020 the number of Africans infected with HIV/AIDS is expected to far exceed the availability of treatment resources.

To prevent this scenario, the IOM report calls for more efficient systems for care and treatment in the developing world as well as a renewed focus on reducing the rate of new infections through sustained and innovative prevention efforts. The recent NEJM paper showing that pre-exposure prophylaxis works is encouraging. But given the associated problems with liver and kidney failure, as well as the heightened potential for the virus evolving resistance to the drugs, many more solutions are needed.

Image: IOM