Robert Vitillo

About the author: Robert Vitillo, a priest of the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, is head of programs at Caritas Internationalis, the umbrella organization for Catholic development and relief agencies. He presented the following viewpoint at a meeting of the Vatican of Catholic development and relief officials.

The AIDS pandemic is a global problem. While the industrialized world has suffered an increasing number of AIDS cases, over 90 percent of cases are found in developing nations. Since 1990, HIV infection rates have soared in Asian countries such as India and Thailand. Young women in these areas are particularly susceptible. Despite this disproportionate impact on developing nations, however, less than 10 percent of the total worldwide funding for AIDS prevention programs and research is expended in Third World countries. In...