Fighting against AIDS: the Brazilian experience.

Brazil was among the countries to be the earliest and the most intensely affected by the AIDS epidemic. After the first AIDS case was reported in 1982 [1] new cases sky-rocketed to more than 10 000 in the beginning of 1990 [2]. In that year the World Bank estimated that Brazil would experience 1 200 000 HIV infections by the year 2000 explicitly expressing the fear that the epidemic would then be totally out of control. However a recent estimate by the Brazilian Ministry of Health (MoH) has reduced that number to under 600 000 and all AIDS-related figures are much more encouraging than anticipated a decade ago. The objective of this article is to review the actions taken that have prevented the above expectations. (excerpt)