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Francois St. Ker, 55, was on the brink of dying from AIDS in the spring of 2001. Today, he's a successful farmer and is in good health, thanks to treatment for his HIV.Special Series

AIDS: A Turning Point

Three decades into the HIV/AIDS pandemic, researchers think they can see the beginning of the end.
Nurse Maria Vatista draws blood from a Greek drug addict for an HIV test in a mobile testing van in Athens last year. HIV infection rates are rising, as Greece's financial crisis has led the government to cut health and social services, including a successful needle exchange program.

Nurse Maria Vatista draws blood from a Greek drug addict for an HIV test in a mobile testing van in Athens last year. HIV infection rates are rising, as Greece's financial crisis has led the government to cut health and social services, including a successful needle exchange program. Yannis Behrakis/Reuters/Landov hide caption

itoggle caption Yannis Behrakis/Reuters/Landov

Greece's Latest Crisis: Rising HIV Cases

Despite having one of the lowest HIV rates in Europe, Greece's recent jump in the number of infections, particularly among injecting drug users, is alarming. Health workers blame cuts in health and social services, including the end of what had been a successful needle exchange program.

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Timothy Ray Brown, shown in May 2011 with his dog Jack in San Francisco, is the only man ever known to have been fully cured from AIDS. Brown is known as the "Berlin patient" because he had a bone marrow transplant in a German hospital five years ago.

Timothy Ray Brown, shown in May 2011 with his dog Jack in San Francisco, is the only man ever known to have been fully cured from AIDS. Brown is known as the "Berlin patient" because he had a bone marrow transplant in a German hospital five years ago. Eric Risberg/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Eric Risberg/AP

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Two More Nearing AIDS 'Cure' After Bone Marrow Transplants, Doctors Say

The two patients in Boston seem to be free of HIV after treatment for cancer, Harvard researchers say. But they're still on antiviral drugs, unlike the so-called Berlin patient, who's the only person in the world to be fully cured.

A mobile clinic set up to test students for HIV is parked near Madwaleni High School in Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa on March 8, 2011. Parts of the South African province have HIV rates that are more than twice the national average.

A mobile clinic set up to test students for HIV is parked near Madwaleni High School in Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa on March 8, 2011. Parts of the South African province have HIV rates that are more than twice the national average. Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

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Amid An AIDS Epidemic, South Africa Battles Another Foe: Tuberculosis

Some parts of the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa have HIV rates that are more than twice the national average. And clinics in the region are seeing another major problem: thousands of cases yearly of multi-drug-resistant TB.

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Activist Alexandra Volgina (right) accepts the Red Ribbon Award at the 19th International AIDS Conference for her grassroots group Patients in Control, which has worked to improve HIV treatment programs in Russia.

Activist Alexandra Volgina (right) accepts the Red Ribbon Award at the 19th International AIDS Conference for her grassroots group Patients in Control, which has worked to improve HIV treatment programs in Russia. Ryan Rayburn/IAS hide caption

itoggle caption Ryan Rayburn/IAS

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How A 'Google Bomb' Improved Russia's HIV Drug Supply

When Russian officials downplayed shortages of HIV drugs, activists turned to the Web to raise awareness about the problem. Since 2004, the AIDS epidemic has worsened in Russia, despite a law that requires drug treatment people with HIV.

Health care workers in South Africa speak to residents during a door-to-door AIDS awareness campaign, part of a series of prevention efforts that has helped lower the country's HIV infection rate.

Health care workers in South Africa speak to residents during a door-to-door AIDS awareness campaign, part of a series of prevention efforts that has helped lower the country's HIV infection rate. Mujahid Safodien /Reuters /Landov hide caption

itoggle caption Mujahid Safodien /Reuters /Landov

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Prevention Programs Curb New HIV Infections In South Africa

More than half a million South Africans were infected with HIV in 2000. Efforts to stem the virus since then have produced marked results in the number of new infections. But the total number of people with HIV in South Africa still isn't going down.

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Condom use has dropped among black youth, even as teens engage in less risky sexual behavior overall.

Condom use has dropped among black youth, even as teens engage in less risky sexual behavior overall. Mike Segar/Reuters/Landov hide caption

itoggle caption Mike Segar/Reuters/Landov

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Black Teens Are Getting The Message On HIV, But Risks Are Still There

Black high school students are engaging in risky sexual behavior far less often than they were 20 years ago, a study found. But their condom use is also dropping, leading some to worry that HIV rates within the black community may not go down.

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A heroin user keeps a syringe tucked behind his ear at a park in the city of Medan on Indonesia's Sumatra island. Cordita-Caritas Medan, a nongovernmental organization active there, works to reduce HIV infections through rehab of drug users and a needle exchange program.

A heroin user keeps a syringe tucked behind his ear at a park in the city of Medan on Indonesia's Sumatra island. Cordita-Caritas Medan, a nongovernmental organization active there, works to reduce HIV infections through rehab of drug users and a needle exchange program. Sutanta Aditya/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Sutanta Aditya/AFP/Getty Images

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Needle Exchanges Often Overlooked In AIDS Fight

Few strategies to prevent HIV infection are so effective, or so thoroughly proved. Yet needle exchanges aren't offered in some places that have been hit hard by the virus. In the U.S. there is pressure on funding that raises concerns the programs could be curtailed.

Sir Elton John speaks Monday at the 19th International AIDS Conference in Washington.

Sir Elton John speaks Monday at the 19th International AIDS Conference in Washington. Carolyn Kaster/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Carolyn Kaster/AP

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AIDS Returns To The U.S. Spotlight

The leading international AIDS conference returns to the U.S. after a 22-year hiatus. A lot has happened in the years since the conference was last here. Treatments have turned a disease with a near-certain death sentence into a disease that people can live with for decades. And there is evidence that the epidemic could be greatly slowed or even stopped.

HIV patient Darnell Hollie, 47, talks to her doctor Monica Gandhi (right) at San Francisco General Hospital. Her path from drug addict to model patient was "a lot of work, but if you want it, it's there for you," Hollie says.

HIV patient Darnell Hollie, 47, talks to her doctor Monica Gandhi (right) at San Francisco General Hospital. Her path from drug addict to model patient was "a lot of work, but if you want it, it's there for you," Hollie says. Richard Knox/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Richard Knox/NPR

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San Francisco Thwarts HIV With Wide Testing, Universal Treatment

A new approach in San Francisco provides HIV testing and treatment for patients with the virus who didn't know they were at risk. "Test and treat" requires long-term vigilance by doctors and patients, but early evidence suggests that it is reducing HIV in the city.

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Visitors view the AIDS Memorial Quilt at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where the International AIDS Conference is being held this week.

Visitors view the AIDS Memorial Quilt at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where the International AIDS Conference is being held this week. Ebony Bailey/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Ebony Bailey/NPR

Testing, Treatment Key Weapons In AIDS Fight

The International AIDS Conference is being held this week in Washington, D.C. HIV infection in the host city is the highest in the nation. Though treatments have come a long way in the past 30 years, those high infection rates — especially among the black community — show there is still much work to be done.

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Anti-AIDS posters hang in the Eshowe public health clinic in South Africa's Kwazulu-Natal province. Clinicians there are hoping to slow the spread of HIV by getting more people treatment.

Anti-AIDS posters hang in the Eshowe public health clinic in South Africa's Kwazulu-Natal province. Clinicians there are hoping to slow the spread of HIV by getting more people treatment. Jason Beaubien /NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Jason Beaubien /NPR

After Years Lost, South Africa Rejuvenates HIV Plan

The country has the largest HIV epidemic in the world, and it's also had one of the most conflicted responses to the virus. For years, the government questioned the link between HIV and AIDS and offered little by way of treatment. Now, South Africa is trying to make up for lost time.

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Kim Gerlach of Vancouver waves the flag designed by Affirmative Aids Action for the XI International Conference on AIDS, July 1996.

Kim Gerlach of Vancouver waves the flag designed by Affirmative Aids Action for the XI International Conference on AIDS, July 1996. KIM STALLKNECHT/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption KIM STALLKNECHT/AFP/Getty Images

Timeline: Key Moments In The Fight Against HIV/AIDS

In the 1980s, HIV/AIDS swept across the globe. It soon reached pandemic proportions. In the three decades since, advances in drug therapies have transformed the disease from a death sentence to a chronic illness. In recent years, public health officials have embraced the idea of "test and treat" – that everyone who has HIV should know it and get into treatment right away. With new drug regimens that can reduce the amount of HIV in the blood to undetectable levels, researchers now believe they can halt the spread of HIV and end the pandemic.

HIV counselor Natrussa Williams explains the results of the oral HIV test to Katherine Tapp at the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles in southeast Washington. There have been no babies born with HIV in the city since 2009, in part because of increased testing at locations including some high schools and the DMV.

HIV counselor Natrussa Williams explains the results of the oral HIV test to Katherine Tapp at the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles in southeast Washington. There have been no babies born with HIV in the city since 2009, in part because of increased testing at locations including some high schools and the DMV. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Know Your HIV Status? D.C.'s Asking WAMU-FM

Washington, D.C., has the highest rate of HIV infection in the nation. A key initiative in the battle to contain the epidemic is encouraging people to get tested. From the grocery store to the nightclub, community health workers are pushing the conversation with on-the-spot test results.

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