On Monday, the 20th annual World AIDS Day organizations looked at the disease and the progress that has been made in the fight to control if not eradicate it. Shanta Devarajan, Chief Economist for the World Bank's Africa region calling AIDS society's problem rather than only a health problem said, "We need all the resources and all the mechanisms that we have in society to fight AIDS."

His sentiments were echoed by the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation who not only provide prevention and education programs to help stop the spread of HIV but empower residents to be tested and reduce not only their risk, but also the risk of others. Although the fight to prevent the spread of AIDS has had some impact with leaders of most countries acknowledging the threat of AIDS and committing to fight it, lack of funding held up the implementation of the policies.

Although the treatment for AIDS has improved greatly this benefit was only received by 31 % of patients in low to middle class economic countries. Devarajan said that Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has made the battle against AIDS a top priority while South Africa has rolled out one of the biggest antiretroviral (ARV) treatment programs in the world.

Miriam Schneidman, World Bank Senior Health Specialist said, in Rwanda there has been a "massive increase in the number of people that have come to be tested, and as access to AIDS treatment has scaled up people have become more accepting of those living with AIDS." In the last six years, the Bank has mobilized approximately $2 billion through grants, loans and credits to programs to fight HIV/AIDS and the total Bank financing for HIV/AIDS since 1988 is close to $3.9 billion. Schneidman said the Global Fund and US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), are now major funders of anti-retroviral treatment in Africa.

Despite the global awareness on AIDS infections still occur 2.7 times more quickly than the people receive treatment. Devarajan said prevention and treatment for all who need it are critical to reduce the impacts of AIDS on current and future generations. "You might have a whole generation of people whose parents were affected by AIDS who are less educated and in turn are less able to educate their children. The transmission mechanisms could go on for generations."

He added that preliminary analysis of some of the countries with a high incidence of HIV/AIDS indicates GDP "could not just grow slowly but could actually start declining…it could mean than in three or four generations GDP could decline to about half its original size."