9 Things That Are More Expensive Than Curing AIDS

In Elton John's book, Love Is The Cure, the singer says it would be surprisingly economical for the United States to go from "treatment and prevention for some, to treatment and prevention for all who need it."

The United States is already at the forefront of curing AIDS.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

The government pledged $48 billion between 2009 and 2013 to help fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in the developing world. However, there are still thirty-four million people living with AIDS and the number is growing.

According to a study by UNAIDS, it would only cost Americans an additional $5 to $7 billion a year through 2020 to end AIDS.

Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

1. That's less than the annual expenditure on chocolate: $12.6 billion

lovethispic.com

2. Annual expenditure on supplements and herbal remedies: $14.8 Billion

russianchicagomag.com

3. Annual expenditure on "alternative vet care" for pets: $12.5 billion

wordpress.com

4. Annual expenditure on cigarette advertising: $8.37 billion

old-ads.com

5. Annual expenditure on beer: $99 billion

gifloop.tumblr.com

6. Annual expenditure on Valentines Day: $18.6 billion

media.giphy.com

7. Annual expenditure on McDonalds: $27.5 billion

sodahead.com

8. Annual expenditure on Halloween costumes: $6.9 billion

centercityrealestate.com

9. Annual expenditure on toilet paper: $6 billion

gifsoup.com

With this additional spending, experts say, we could prevent 12.2 million new infections and save over 7.4 million lives between now and 2020.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

Take action here and help rid the world of AIDS.