Incredibly, this figure is almost ten times what is being spent today. Dr Piot noted that several developed world nations have recently increased their contributions to address the global epidemic, but said that much more remains to be done.
Current efforts are simply inadequate.
The entire world must do more. In sub-Saharan Africa, the region hardest hit by AIDS, there were 4 million new HIV infections during 1999 and the epidemic continues to spread. AIDS now kills ten times more people a year than war on the African continent. Against this backdrop, activists, scientists and political leaders have gathered in Durban from 9-14 July to find ways to slow the epidemic's spread and to break the silence that surrounds it. Many people infected with HIV face discrimination from colleagues, friends, and at times loved ones.