US releases road map to AIDS-free generation

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday unveiled an ambitious road map for achieving the vision of an AIDS-free generation, aiming to see globally no babies born with HIV by 2015. Officially titled the "President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Blueprint: Creating an AIDS-free Generation," the road map was announced by Clinton at the State Department, two days ahead of the World AIDS Day. Under the road map, the United States will increase its coverage of HIV treatment to cut the number of deaths from AIDS and boost HIV prevention, including antiretroviral drugs. U.S. President Barack Obama has set a goal of treating some 6 million people with such drugs by the end of 2013; increase the numbers of men that get circumcisions, as study showed that circumcised men were less likely than uncircumcised men to be infected through sex HIV-positive women. By the end of fiscal year 2013, PEPFAR aims to have supported such operations for some 4.7 million men in eastern and southern Africa; step up access to testing and counseling, as well as to condoms and other prevention methods. The U.S. PEPFAR program, launched by former President George W. Bush in 2003, has been a catalyst for advancing HIV treatment, particularly in Africa. It now supports some 5.1 million people worldwide who are receiving anti-retroviral drugs. "We can reach a point where virtually no children are born with the virus," Clinton said while announcing the blueprint. Obama echoed Clinton's promise. "We stand at a tipping point in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and working together, we can realize our historic opportunity to bring that fight to an end," Obama said in a statement to mark the World AIDS Day. Worldwide some 34 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2011, the UNAIDS report said. Deaths from AIDS fell to 1.7 million in 2011, down from a peak of 2.3 million in 2005 and from 1.8 million in 2010.