|
CAPE TOWN, June 5 (AFP) - The United Nations warned here Tuesday, on the 20th anniversary of the discovery of AIDS, that the epidemic had only "just started" though more than 36 million people are infected and 22 million people have died. Peter Piot, the director of the UN agency UNAIDS, told e.tv. independent television that in parts of the world like Asia the epidemic was still in the early stages. "In 20 years time nearly 60 million people have become infected, which is enormous... but when I look at Asia, eastern Europe and west Africa for example, it has really just started," he said, giving the total number of infections -- including the deaths -- in the past 20 years. Piot said the progress of the killer pandemic would depend on whether people had the will and the resources to combat it. "How many people will eventually become infected will depend on ourselves entirely, whether we as the world will be able to organise ourselves and to dedicate enough resources to fight this epidemic," he said. Piot said the "battle has been lost for some generations" -- in some African villages grandparents are looking after the children, because most of the parents have died of AIDS -- but that there were signs of a downturn in the infection rate in Africa. "We see now for the first time in all continents including in Africa that particularly among the young people, also in South Africa, there is a downturn in the trend of the spread of HIV. "It is not enough
yet that is for sure and I would not call it a success but it is a hope-giving
trend and it means we have to continue with what we are doing at the
moment." |