Search Here

To help combat the spread of HIV in poor countries, the Obama administrative has pledged an extra $150 million.

The announcement was made at the world's largest AIDS conference.

U.S. HIV researcher   Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health said the goal is to get to the end of AIDS. Fauci told the more than 20,000 scientists, people living with HIV and policymakers assembled for the conference that he knows it can happen, but will not make any promises or put a date on it.

Over 374 million people worldwide are living with HIV and 2.5 million were infected last year.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the goal is an AIDS-free generation.

"I am here today to make it absolutely clear the U.S. is committed and will remain committed to achieving an AIDS-free generation," Clinton said. "If we want to save more lives, we need to go where the virus is."

Clinton said by 2015, it is possible to virtually eliminate the transmission of HIV from infected pregnant women to their babies by getting the mothers onto anti-AIDS drugs.

Almost 330,000 children became infected last year.

Clinton said the U.S. will provide $40 million to help South Africa reach its goal of providing voluntary circumcision to half a million boys and men this year.

"If we're going to beat AIDS, we can't afford to avoid sensitive conversations, and we can't afford not to reach the people who are at the highest risk," she said.

The world spent $16.8 billion fighting AIDS in poor countries, the hardest-hit, last year. But that's still $7 billion a year shy of the amount needed to nearly double the 8 million people getting life-saving drugs by the world's goal of 2015.

"This gap is killing people," UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibe told the conference. "My friends, the end of AIDS is not free. It is not too expensive. It is priceless."