Martha Ainsworth

About the author: Martha Ainsworth is a senior economist in the Development Research Group of the World Bank and is coauthor of Confronting AIDS: Public Priorities in a Global Epidemic.

Changing individual behavior is an important factor in arresting the spread of the AIDS epidemic in developing countries. Because human behavior plays a critical role in the transmission of the AIDS virus, preventive measures such as condom use and avoiding needle sharing must be encouraged among people most likely to spread the disease. Helping to implement these preventive measures must be a high priority for the governments of developing countries, where individuals do not have the education or resources to fight the disease. Furthermore, governments can assist people engaging in high-risk behavior by lowering the costs...