Without drug treatment, HIV positive people can develop AIDS ten or more years after infection. This average, though, is based on them having a reasonable diet. In more impoverished areas it may develop far more rapidly.

Antiretroviral drugs can prolong the time between HIV infection and the onset of AIDS. New medicines are being developed, and theoretically someone with HIV can live for a long time without developing AIDS. These medicines, however, are not available in many poor countries around the world, and millions of people who cannot access medication continue to die.