AIDS Epidemic Expected To Be Eliminated By 2030: UN

A recent report from the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) asserts that most countries in the world have been able to control the spread of the disease within their territiory.

Based on the study findings, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sais that if the trend continues, the AIDS epidemic will be completely eradicated by 2030. In a statement, he urged nations around the world to "commit to ending the AIDS epidemic as part of the Sustainable Development Goals."

The UNAIDS report was released 15 years after the Millennium Development Goals, which were decided, agreed and implemented by the members of the U.N.

The MDGs thus defined focus on certain global issues, including children's health and education. The sixth MDG was set keeping in mind the need to control epidemic diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and malaria.

The report revealed that in the past 15 years, the number of new HIV infections reported per year has dropped by 35 percent, from 3.1 million in 2000 to 2 million in 2014. As established in one of the goals, 15 million people around the world now have access to the antiretroviral therapy for management of HIV/AIDS.

In addition, the report claims that the number of deaths due to tuberculosis among the infected persons has reduced by 33 percent, while more than 83 countries have been able to stop the HIV/AIDS epidemic. UNAIDS report also revealed the prices for the HIV medicines have dropped by 99 percent in the past decade.