Thirty years have now passed since HIV/AIDS began making headlines, and the deadly pandemic continues to reap a grim toll. What began as a mysterious illness afflicting the U.S. gay community in the summer of 1981 eventually snowballed into a pandemic that has infected more than 60 million people and killed nearly half that number. Despite years of efforts to combat the disease, even now more than 7,000 people are infected every day, including 1,000 children.
Last week in New York, the United Nations held its high-level meeting on AIDS with leaders, HIV/AIDS organizations and activists from more than 30 countries in attendance. The three-day meeting concluded on June 10 with a declaration that set a number of bold targets to be achieved by 2015, including doubling the number of people on antiretroviral drugs to 15 million; reducing by half the number of new cases involving the transmission of HIV through sexual activity or injection of drugs; ending the transmission of HIV from mother to child; halving tuberculosis deaths among people living with HIV; and increasing preventative measures for the "most vulnerable populations," including gay men, drug users and sex workers.
The boldest goal of all was announced by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who called for an international commitment to eliminate AIDS by 2020. "That is our goal — zero new infections, zero stigma and zero AIDS-related deaths. Toward this end, U.N. member states also pledged to increase AIDS-related spending in low- and middle-income countries to between $22-$24 billion by 2015, Mr. Ban declared.