David Sahn is a professor and health economist at Cornell University focusing on poverty, malnutrition and disease in developing countries. He edited the book "The Socioeconomic Dimensions of HIV/AIDS in Africa," and has consulted for the World Health Organization.
He says:
“If the treatment in fact works, it is a major game changer in developing countries, where mother-to-child transmission remains high and a large number of HIV infected mothers do not receive the drugs at or before birth to prevent transmission to their newborns.
“While there is an emerging view that HIV is a chronic disease that one can live with, it still has devastating health implications over the life course, especially for those infected as children. Likewise, there are high economic costs to those who are infected, and society as a whole. The drugs are toxic and expensive, and remain out of reach to many in Africa. Thus, there are often tragic impacts on the health of those who are infected at birth, and the economic impact of treatment and lost productivity contribute to poverty and slow economic growth.
“If further research proves that there indeed is a cure for newborn children, this will be a major advance.”
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