The rapid expansion of a large AIDS treatment program in Zambia is working well and has saved many lives in its first two years, the program’s leaders said on Sunday at the opening of the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto, The New York Times reported today.

A study looked at the outcome for more than 25,000 patients who received antiretroviral drugs after the Zambian government opened 18 clinics in April 2004. There had been widespread skepticism that such programs would work in poor countries, but the Zambian effort reduced AIDS death rates to compare favorably with those in the United States among patients who followed a similar treatment plan. Jeffrey S.A. Stringer, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, led the team that reported the findings.

The findings appear in Wednesday’s issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, which was released early to coincide with the opening of the AIDS conference. The meeting, which continues through Friday, is expected to draw 24,000 participants.