UN Proposes Measures to Eradicate AIDS Deaths and Infections
United Nations, Jun 9. -The United Nations proposed five world objectives to the international community to eradicate AIDS-related deaths and new infections of HIV-AIDS by 2015.
These new goals are included in a report presented by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on occasion of a high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the subject begun Wednesday with the presence of about 30 heads of State and Government.
The first challenge points to prevention and calls for a 50 percent reduction of sexually transmitted HIV diseases, specially in sectors such as youth and homosexual men and in the context of sex work and injected drug use.
The second point calls for ensuring that 13 million people receive HIV treatment by 2015 and advance towards universal access to these procedures.
In addition, the report states that tuberculosis continues to be a main killer of people who live with AIDS although it is a preventable and curable disease and calls for reducing 50 percent of such deaths.
The report describes as a serious world injustice that 370,000 infants are born with HIV every year in underdeveloped nations while virtual transmission has practically been eliminated in industrial nations.
The report also urges to step up efforts towards the vertical transmission of HIV "thereby saving motherâ�Ös lives, prevent children from becoming orphans and improving the health of women, children and families in general."
Regarding the children, Ban Ki-moon calls on governments to support infants affected with AIDS so that they can continue going to school, prevent stigmatization and achieve equal access to education by 2015. The UN chief demands a reduction by five in the number of countries that still apply restrictions related to AIDS for entry, visit and residence in their territory.
It is 30 years since the appearance of AIDS, a period in which more than 25 million have died and more than 60 million have been infected.
On Tuesday, the Security Council considered HIV-AIDS as "one of the biggest challenges to development, progress and stability of societies and requires a global response, of broad and exceptional character."
In a resolution of this Council of 15 members pointed out that propagation "can have devastating repercussions in all sectors and levels of society," that could worsen in conflict and post-conflict situations.
Combating AIDS, malaria and other diseases was the sixth Millennium Development Goal agreed upon by the UN in 2000 to be achieved in 2015.
According to UN figures, the rate of HIV/AIDS new infections fell 25 percent between 2009 and 2011 although there are still 34 million persons who live with the virus. (Prensa Latina)
