The number of people who should get treatment for HIV increased by nine million Wednesday, according to the World Health Organization's new guidelines. In addition to suggesting that everyone infected with HIV immediately be put on antiretroviral triple therapy, the WHO also suggested that anyone at risk of contracting the virus be put on protective doses of the drugs, effectively adding "untold millions" — namely women and girls in Africa — to that count.
How much these millions of additional HIV treatments will cost and who will pay for them is a question that remains unanswered. Experts are hailing the new guidelines as "critically important" and "transformative to epidemic control."
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