In Photos: Millions of Africans Left Out of Global HIV Response

Patrick Luyeye and Selly Bentone (right) examine patient Nadine, 28, at the Centre Hospitalier de Kabinda, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Doctors Without Borders (Médecins sans frontière or MSF) has observed an excessively high number of patients arriving with serious complications resulting from lack of treatment. (MSF/Mario Travaini)

André, 42, photographed in the HIV-AIDS ward of the Centre Hospitalier Kabinda in Kinshasa, DRC, Jan. 24, 2012. (MSF/Mario Travaini)

André, 42, photographed in the HIV-AIDS ward of the Centre Hospitalier Kabinda in Kinshasa, Jan. 24, 2012. DRC only has a 15 percent ARV coverage rate, one of the lowest in the world. Of all African countries, only Somalia and Sudan have similar rates. (MSF/Mario Travaini)

Julia, an AIDS patient being treated at Kabinda Hospital Center, Kinshasa. The number of HIV-positive people in DRC is currently estimated at more than one million, 350,000 of whom could benefit from ARV treatment. However, only 44,000 are receiving treatment at this time. (MSF/Mario Travaini).

The arm of Julia, a patient ill with advanced AIDS at the Centre Hospitalier Kabinda, Kinshasa, DRC.

Jean-Pierre Lingombe suffers from AIDS and tuberculosis. He was hospitalized at MSF’s HIV-AIDS hospital in Kinshasa and treated for HIV and AIDS. Jean-Pierre is now followed by the Roi Baudouin Hospital in Kinshasa for his tuberculosis treatment. However, at the time of the visit of the photographer, he had not received his TB drugs because of a drug stockout at the hospital.

Elise, 12, was infected with HIV during her mother's pregnancy.  She received antiretroviral treatment erratically in the early years because of her mother's lack of knowledge on how best to care for an HIV-positive child. As a result she developed a resistance to the first set of antiretroviral drugs. Elise lost her battle with HIV and died a few days after these pictures were taken, Kinshasa.  Her mother Agathe wanted MSF to publish these pictures. "It cannot help Elise, but it may help others in the country," she said. (MSF/Rosalie Colfs)