AIDS Conference Opens, UN Seeks Help From Wealthy Countries

Washington (dbTechno) - The International AIDS Conference opened up on Sunday in Mexico City, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon speaking before researchers and others from around the world.

The six-day global event will kick off officially on Monday, with many key topics on the table.

The event has drawn over 20,000 researchers, politicians, etc. from around the world.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stressed on Sunday that wealthy countries need to step up to the plate and help by giving more funds towards the war on AIDS.

He stated “As the fight against AIDS nears the end of its third decade, we are still facing a huge shortfall in resources.”

Ban Ki-moon stressed that in order to continue to fight HIV and AIDS, you need “long-term and sustained financing.”

The conference made it clear that since 1981, over 25 million people have died from AIDS.

Today alone, 33 million people are living with HIV, and with no vaccine in sight, the best thing they can do is build up prevention methods to stop the spread.

The majority of the cases of HIV are located in poor countries, with few having access to the necessary drugs.

Going beyond funding, the conference also aims to help build up prevention to the HIV virus, among other things.