UN: 4 Million People Now on AIDS Drugs

But is it too little too late:

United Nations health officials estimate about 4 million people who need AIDS drugs worldwide are now getting them, according to a report issued Wednesday.

The figure represents a major increase in rolling out the drugs to patients across Africa, where the AIDS epidemic is focused, but an estimated 5 million or more across the globe are still waiting for the drugs.

The numbers, based on incomplete data and modeling, are only a guess. They were released in an annual AIDS report jointly published by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the U.N. AIDS program.

"There remain uncertainties related to the quality of data reported," officials wrote. Of the U.N.'s 192 member countries, 158 provided government-approved data, most of which were not independently verified.

"Even though some of the data are not fully clear and there are some unanswered questions, this is a dramatic improvement," said Daniel Halperin, an AIDS expert at Harvard University. "It shows that all this money that has gone to treatment has made some difference."