An Aids-free generation
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed that the US will step up the fight against HIV, insisting it was working towards the goal of achieving an Aids-free generation. Amid worrying research showing that resistance to Aids drugs is now growing in...
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed that the US will step up the fight against HIV, insisting it was working towards the goal of achieving an Aids-free generation.
Amid worrying research showing that resistance to Aids drugs is now growing in parts of Africa, Ms Clinton unveiled new funding of €123.8 million to fight the pandemic.
“The US is committed and will remain committed to achieving an Aids-free generation,” she told the International Aids Conference in Washington.
“We will not back off, we will not back down. We will fight for the resources necessary to achieve this historic milestone,” she added, dismissing criticism that the US was not serious in its bid to fight the 30-year pandemic.
Some 1.5 million people died from the disease last year, and some 34 million people globally are living with HIV, according to the latest UNAIDS report.
However, about one in five people are not aware of their condition and are most at risk of spreading the disease.
Clinton said people and governments had to break the chain of transmission, urging men to have voluntary circumcisions and calling for HIV-positive pregnant women to get the right treatment to spare their babies from infection.
“This is a fight we can win. We have already come so far, too far to stop now,” she said, drawing loud applause and cheers from the audience.
In an Aids-free generation, almost no child would be born with HIV, adults would be at a lower risk of becoming infected, and if they get HIV they would have treatment to stop them developing AIDS and passing it on, she said.
The six-day 19th International Aids Conference is expected to draw 25,000 people, including politicians, scientists, activists and HIV sufferers.