Heading into the fourth
decade of AIDS, we are finally in a position to end the epidemic.
The progress we
have made so far is proof that we can realize our vision of zero new HIV
infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.
The number of new
HIV infections has fallen by more than 20 per cent since 1997. New infections
are continuing to decline in most parts of the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, the
region most affected by the AIDS epidemic, HIV incidence has decreased in 22 countries.
Among populations
at risk, the tide is shifting. Access to HIV prevention services are helping
young people, sex workers and their clients, people who inject drugs, men who
have sex with men, and transgender people to take control of their health for
greater well-being.
Treatment has
averted 2.5 million AIDS-related deaths since 1985. Last year alone, 700,000
lives were saved. Some 6.6 million people, nearly half those who need treatment
in low- and middle-income countries, are now receiving it.
Synergies between prevention
and treatment are speeding up progress.
But to end AIDS,
we need to deliver even greater results.
This year in June,
the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on AIDS adopted bold
targets for 2015: reduce the sexual transmission of HIV by half, eliminate new
infections in children, provide treatment for 15 million people living with HIV,
end stigma and discrimination, and close the AIDS funding gap.
With strong political
will, reasonable financial resources and a firm human rights-based approach, we
can achieve all of these targets.
Financing will be critical
to success. I urge all concerned to act on the investment framework put forward
by UNAIDS and to fully fund the global investment target of up to $24 billion
annually. The results would offset the upfront costs in less than one
generation.
We must build on
the political commitments, investments, energy, activism and determination that
have brought us to this turning point.
Momentum is on our
side. Let us use it to end AIDS – once and for all.
Heading into the
fourth decade of AIDS, we are finally in a position to end the epidemic.
The progress we
have made so far is proof that we can realize our vision of zero new HIV
infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.
The number of new
HIV infections has fallen by more than 20 per cent since 1997. New infections
are continuing to decline in most parts of the world. In sub-Saharan Africa,
the region most affected by the AIDS epidemic, HIV incidence has decreased in
22 countries.
Among populations
at risk, the tide is shifting. Access to HIV prevention services are helping
young people, sex workers and their clients, people who inject drugs, men who
have sex with men, and transgender people to take control of their health for
greater well-being.
Treatment has
averted 2.5 million AIDS-related deaths since 1985. Last year alone, 700,000
lives were saved. Some 6.6 million people, nearly half those who need treatment
in low- and middle-income countries, are now receiving it.
Synergies between
prevention and treatment are speeding up progress.
But to end AIDS,
we need to deliver even greater results.
This year in June,
the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on AIDS adopted bold
targets for 2015: reduce the sexual transmission of HIV by half, eliminate new
infections in children, provide treatment for 15 million people living with
HIV, end stigma and discrimination, and close the AIDS funding gap.
With strong
political will, reasonable financial resources and a firm human rights-based
approach, we can achieve all of these targets.
Financing will be
critical to success. I urge all concerned to act on the investment framework
put forward by UNAIDS and to fully fund the global investment target of up to
$24 billion annually. The results would offset the upfront costs in less than
one generation.
We must build on
the political commitments, investments, energy, activism and determination that
have brought us to this turning point.
Momentum is on our
side. Let us use it to end AIDS – once and for all.
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