'AIDS has gotten special treatment because of its emergency status; that view is no longer valid because the epidemic has peaked,' John Bongaarts told IRIN/PlusNews on the phone from the New York headquarters of the Population Council. 'My own feeling is that the amount that's devoted to AIDS treatment is out of proportion to other health problems.'

AIDS spending by the G8 group of wealthly nations, the European Commission and other donors hit US$ 6.6 billion last year, up from US$ 5.6 billion in 2006. However, despite the largesse, UNAIDS said a US$8.1 billion gap in funding for essential HIV/AIDS programmes remained.