UN General Assembly
2009

In June of last year, our leaders gathered in New York for the midterm review of the implementation of the goals and targets of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, which was adopted in 2001. The review revealed that, despite heightened political momentum and national and global responses to HIV/AIDS, not much progress had been made towards mitigating its effects. Only a handful of countries were reported to be on track to achieving some of their commitments, while the majority of countries were found to be lagging far behind in implementing them. That situation underscores the urgent need to accelerate the momentum for universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support. The ongoing global economic crisis has already placed people living with HIV/AIDS at great risk, as many countries have had to cut down on some HIV/AIDS programmes due to budgetary constraints. Budget reductions in HIV/AIDS programmes, in particular, in developing countries, will obviously result in increased loss of life, as well as an increase in the cost of health care in the future.