End to AIDS in reach, U.N. officials say on World AIDS Day

"As the world heads into the fourth decade of AIDS, it is finally in a position to end the epidemic, [U.N.] Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said [Thursday], leading a chorus of United Nations officials in calling for the political will, investments and determination to reach this goal," the U.N. News Centre reports. "'Momentum is on our side. Let us use it to end AIDS -- once and for all,' Mr. Ban said in his message for World AIDS Day," the news service writes (12/1).

"'With strong political will, reasonable financial resources and a firm human rights-based approach, we can achieve all of these targets,' Ban said," adding, "'Financing will be crucial to success. The results would offset the upfront costs in less than one generation,'" Xinhua reports (Reilly, 12/1). "Michel Sidibe, executive director of [UNAIDS], noted it has been a year of achievements, of collective action, of resilience and of courage," according to the U.N. News Centre, which adds, "Despite the economic downturn that has stretched the AIDS response to its limits, millions of lives have been saved, as HIV treatment and prevention efforts continue to show results, he said" (12/1).