Infection with HIV is the necessary precondition for the development of AIDS: a fact widely acknowledged throughout the scientific community.

A small number of people deny that HIV causes AIDS. Claims have been made that AIDS is the result of an artificial link, created in the interests of profit by scientists and pharmaceutical companies, or that AIDS and/or the drugs developed to treat HIV are part of a racially motivated conspiracy. While no back-up for these theories has been found, the arguments are used to bring notoriety to some or as a justification for others in a position of power to withhold funding for treatment. Absence of treatment has led to increased transmission and unnecessary morbidity and mortality.

See the Treatment and Care pages for further discussion of these issues.