The development of effective anti-retrovirals has transformed AIDS into two diseases: one for the rich and quite a different one for the poor. ----. So, they can think of their illness as a chronic condition with which they may live for decades. The incidence of new cases has also dropped significantly. By contrast, in much of the developing world, HIV infection is still largely a near-term death sentence, and the far greater incidence is only just beginning to level off.