Zero Aids infection by 2020

14 June 2011 - 15:27 By Sapa-AFP
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The aim is an end to new infections by the end of the decade.

African leaders yesterday called for greater resources to battle the Aids pandemic at a summit where UN leader Ban Ki-moon set a target of ending new infections by the end of the decade.Thirty presidents and heads of government were at the summit marking the 30th anniversary of the discovery of Aids.

More than 6million people currently get drugs to keep Aids and HIV at bay. But more than 9-million still do not get the treatment and an estimated 1.8 million people a year are still dying from Aids.

About 34 million people around the world have Aids, according to UN figures, and about half do not know they have the disease.

US President Barack Obama, who did not attend the summit, urged more governments to get involved and co-ordinate more efficiently to create greater awareness about the virus and its victims.

The summit final statement is to set out the target number of people who will get Aids drugs.

The UN secretary general said that the international goal must now be to eliminate the disease by 2020 - "zero new infections, zero stigma and zero Aids-related deaths".

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