The reason for the declining mortality from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is due to more knowledge among the general population of how to be protected against the disease, and the availability of more effective highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). The last decades have seen progress in the developing of medicines to treat AIDS however there is no definite cure in sight.

Even though these numbers for the US are satisfying, AIDS has globally been outstanding in causing more deaths than any other epidemic, now counting more than 180 million people worldwide since it was recognized in year 1981. The projected life expectancy rate at birth are now five years lower in the whole of Africa, and the population is 280 million lower, than it would have been without the occurrence of AIDS.

Argument: According to the study Comparing The Public Health Burden of Chronic Hepatitis C and HIV Infection in United States, deaths from HIV in the US will be 4,200-6,700 in year 2030. The numbers of deaths worldwide from AIDS have been published by the United Nations in the report The Impact of AIDS.

Questions: The human population will be 3.5% lower in year 2030 than it would have been without the occurrence of AIDS and even if a cure is found, more than 40 million people will die before the epidemic is extinct. What is the loss of value for humanity to loose such a big part of the population? Can that value be invested today to prevent the disease to spread further?

Tobacco is still the biggest single source for developing malignant tumors and lung cancer the most common form of cancer. The relative risk for a regular smoker to develop lung cancer compared to a non-smoker is between 20 and 30 times higher. Even involuntary tobacco smoke may increase the lung cancer risk by 20 percent.

The connection between smoking and lung cancer was already established in a report in 1957. They then estimated that the mortality rate caused by lung cancer had doubled from 1945 to 1955. Today, more than 10 million people worldwide dies from smoking every year.

The best way to avoid getting cancer is staying away from cancer-causing agents like tobacco and industrial carcinogens. It is also important to stay healthy with physical activity, and in general avoid fat food, refined carbohydrates and animal protein. Since there is still no cure for cancer, the best way to deal with cancer is early detection. In that way patients can start treatment as soon as possible which gives a lower mortality rate.

Argument: WHO has revised their World Cancer Report to 16 million new cases of cancer in the world by year 2020.

Questions: Since the cost for treating cancer in the US only, is more than US$ 170 billion a year and tobacco is the single biggest source, how much would it be worth in preventing young people from starting to smoke to save money in the future? Should governments go in to the market and offer a substitute for tobacco to drive the tobacco companies of the market with a substance that is less risky and expensive for the citizens?

The main reason for the increase is the aging population, and half of the people suffering from atrial fibrillation are 80 years or older.

Atrial fibrillation occurs when the blood is not pumped out properly of the heart's two upper chambers (atria), which eventually can make it clot. About 15 percent of strokes occur when such clot from the atria becomes lodged in the artery in the brain.

Argument: According to the study Prevalence of diagnosed atrial fibrillation in adults: national implications for rhythm management and stroke prevention: the AnTicoagulation and Risk Factors in Atrial Fibrillation, between 5.0 and 6.3 million people in the US are projected to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.

Most skin cancers are easily treatable and unlikely to spread, and are called non-melanoma. Malignant melanoma is the most serious type of the disease and may be fatal. It is more common in women than men and research says that sunburns in childhood can double the risk of melanoma in later life.

Some people are born with a greater risk of skin cancer than others. These people tend to burn easily, have fair skin and/or freckles, have red or fair hair and/or pale eyes, have a large number of moles (50+), or have skin cancer in the family (especially melanoma). If one or more of these descriptions apply to you, you should take extra care to protect yourself from the sun.

AIDS is the worst pandemic ever to have hit mankind, and have caused more deaths than the Spanish Flu in 1918-1919 and the Black Death in the 14th century combined. Well, you can add the deaths caused directly by the two world wars during the 20th century too, and AIDS will still outnumber them all. More than half of the deaths from HIV originates from the sub-Saharan Africa, where there now are 14% fewer inhabitants than it would have been without the occurrence of AIDS.

Even though the deaths are tragic, living with the disease put a lot of strain on the average household. The affected families are losing income, as well as get higher expenditure for medical treatment, which impoverish households even further in an already poor part of the world. This forces many families to reduce the consumption of food, which results in malnutrition for all members of the family.

The efforts to raise awareness among the most affected populations have been quite successful during the last decades, as well as lowering the cost for the medicine needed to treat the disease, but there is still no definite cure in sight.

Argument: The numbers of deaths worldwide from AIDS published by the United Nations in the report The Impact of AIDS for year 2025 have been revised for the year 2030.

Questions: What consequences will this loss of human lives have for the strive towards stability in the poor parts of the world?

The direct costs for treating diabetes will only for the US this year be about US$ 506 billion. Although the number of people dying directly from diabetes is approximately 1.5 million worldwide, the number of deaths every year attributable to complications of diabetes is more than 8 million.

Even though improvements have been made in the work for finding a permanent cure for diabetes, the best cure for type-2 diabetes (which results from the body's inability to respond properly to the action of insulin produced by the pancreas) which accounts for about 90% of the cases, is still to exercise and keep a healthy diet. A 30 minute walk each day reduces the incidence of diabetes.

Argument: WHO estimates that 370 million people worldwide will suffer from diabetes in 2030, compared to 177 million in 2000. The figure US$ 506 billion in direct costs for the US to treat diabetes is based on today's cost, the estimated inflation and increase in patients to treat. No eventual cure for diabetes until 2030 is considered. Today the most permanent method of treating diabetes is a pancreas transplant which gives the patient a chance to become independent of insulin injections.

Questions: The most promising cure for diabetes is based on stem cell research. How much of the estimated cost for diabetes in 2030 would be worth investing today to get closer to a cure and what would be the return on that investment? Since physical activity reduces the incidence of diabetes, how much is worth investing in people being more active, already from a young age and to keep them active on a regular basis?