UN chief calls for action on World AIDS Day
Updated: Tuesday, December 01, 2009
17:00GMT—12:00PM/EST
Washington, 1 December (WashingtonTV)—In a statement marking World AIDS Day, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an end to discriminatory practices which he said are hampering efforts to respond to the virus.
Ban called on all countries “to remove punitive laws, policies and practices that hamper the AIDS response,” saying that successful responses “do not punish people, they protect them.”
While the world has seen signs of progressing in reversing the AIDS epidemic in some countries, the virus remains one of the leading causes of premature death globally, he noted.
More than 33 million people around the world carry the virus, with South Africa being the country worst affected by the pandemic.
In an annual report released last week, the UN said that around two million people died of the disease in 2008, bringing the total death toll to around 25 million since the virus was first detected three decades ago, reports AFP.
South African President Jacob Zuma announced a series of new measures today to rein in the disease. The government estimates 5.5 million of its population of 48 million people live with the disease, according to the BBC.
Zuma said that all babies with HIV would receive anti-retroviral drugs, and that such treatment would be available more widely to children and pregnant women.
He encouraged all South Africans to undergo HIV testing, and said he would also be tested.
The United States has announced that it will give 120 million dollars to help fight HIV/AIDS, and that Washington would host the International AIDS conference in 2012, reports Reuters.
Sources: United Nations website, Agence France-Presse, BBC News, Reuters
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