U.N. seeks global commitment to fight AIDS

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The nations of the world should intensify and broaden their political and financial commitments to battle the AIDS crisis, says a U.N. report released Tuesday.

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Calling the HIV/AIDS epidemic "the most formidable development challenge of our time," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on governments to meet seven critical challenges that will help reverse the AIDS epidemic.

Among the points he said need to be addressed are increasing effective leadership and coordination, alleviating the social and economic impact of the epidemic , and mobilizing financial resources.

"AIDS has become a major development crisis. It kills millions of adults in their prime," Annan said. "It fractures and impoverishes families, weakens workforces, turns millions of children into orphans, and threatens the social and economic fabric of communities and the political stability of nations."

He added, "Leadership is fundamental to an effective response. One of the key issues facing the global community is developing and sustaining such dedicated leadership, vital if the nature of the epidemic is to be clearly understood throughout society and a national response mobilized."

Other needs the report emphasizes are reducing the vulnerability of particular social groups, agreeing on targets for the prevention of HIV infection, ensuring that care and support is available to those affected, and developing relevant and effective international commodities to help fight the disease.

The report also says that there are continuing inequalities in access to effective care and treatment and that an expanded prevention effort is key to containing the spread of the epidemic.

In many countries, the need to strengthen health care systems, the affordability of medicines for opportunistic infections and antiretroviral therapy still needs to be addressed, the report says. And the negative impact of AIDS is also evident in economic development and education.

The report will serve as the starting point for the General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS in June.

By the end of 2000, 36.1 million people around the world were living with HIV or AIDS and 21.8 million had died from the disease., the report says.

Globally last year, an estimated 5.3 million new infections were reported and 3 million deaths -- the highest annual total of AIDS deaths ever, it says.

But, according Annan, a greater epidemic can be prevented. "Collective experience with HIV/AIDS has evolved to the point where it is now possible to state with confidence that it is technically, politically and financially feasible to contain HIV/AIDS and dramatically reduce its spread and impact," he said.

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JAMA - HIV/AIDS Information Center
CDC - HIV/AIDS Fact Sheets

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