O N THE PRINCIPLE that no news is good news, the fact that AIDS has dropped out of the headlines is surely a good thing. Nevertheless, it does no harm for the world to be reminded from time to time that the illness has not gone away. To that end, UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation, the international agencies charged with dealing with the epidemic, promote December 1st as World AIDS Day.

This year is the last before the target date for the success of the latest of the agencies’ campaigns to roll out the antiretroviral drugs that both keep those already infected with HIV alive and stop them passing the virus on. This particular campaign is called 90-90-90. Its aims are that, by the end of 2020, 90% of all those around the world who are infected will know they are infected; 90% of that group will be receiving sustained antiretroviral therapy; and 90% of those receiving therapy will have had the virus effectively suppressed.