HIV/AIDS is one of the greatest health challenges facing the world today. In 2005, an estimated 2.8 million people around the world lost their lives to AIDS. An estimated 38.6 million people worldwide are living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). And the number of people affected by this disease continues to rise.

For nearly 20 years, Merck & Co., Inc., has been at the forefront of the effort to respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Merck scientists were among the first to discover and develop medicines for HIV/AIDS. And Merck researchers continue to work to find new ways to treat and prevent this disease.

Since our first HIV products reached the market a decade ago, Merck has worked to expand access to these medicines – particularly in the world's poorest countries and those hardest hit by the pandemic. Today, Merck programs and partnerships around the world are helping to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, expand health care capacity, foster greater disease awareness and acceptance and provide support for people living with HIV/AIDS, their families and communities. Through these and other pioneering efforts, Merck is making a substantial contribution toward meeting one of the most critical needs targeted by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): halting and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.

To learn more about Merck's commitment to addressing HIV/AIDS, click on the links below:

• Merck's Commitment to HIV Research
• Fostering Access to Treatment
• Building Health Care Capacity
• Major Partnerships in HIV/AIDS
• Botswana/Gates/Merck partnership
• China-MSD HIV/AIDS Partnership
• Merck's HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy