United States Department of State

About the author: The United States Department of State is the leading foreign affairs agency of the United States government. The department formulates, represents, and implements the president's foreign policy.

AIDS statistics from 1999 reveal a grim situation in many of the world's developing countries. More than 95 percent of people with HIV/AIDS live in the developing world, and AIDS infections in developing countries are increasing. Many of these are in sub- Saharan Africa, but the trend is shifting to Asia where, along with some countries in the Pacific region, the AIDS virus is spreading swiftly. India is currently the nation with the greatest number of HIV/AIDS-infected individuals. The disease is also spreading in China, in parts of Latin America and Eastern Europe, and in Russia. The spread of AIDS in...