Efforts to combat HIV in Central America and the Caribbean received a major boost today. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the German Development Bank (KfW) signed a cooperation agreement to encourage HIV prevention and reduce infection in these severely affected regions. This signing strengthens the already extensive collaboration between UNAIDS and KfW on AIDS programming.

UNAIDS welcomes the new initiative announced by the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Tony Blair. This commitment, to spending at least £1.5 billion over the next three years on HIV-related programmes, represents a tremendous step forward in the global effort to combat AIDS. UNAIDS also applauds the strategy’s strong focus on women, young people and orphans; often the most vulnerable groups. The UK is once again showing the importance of directed and informed leadership.

Action against HIV/AIDS that does not confront gender inequality is doomed to failure, according to a report released today by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

Political leaders in Asia and the Pacific have a precious window of opportunity to save millions of people from HIV infection. But to succeed, they will need to drastically increase spending on AIDS and scale up prevention, care and treatment programmes, according to a report by the Asia Pacific Leadership Forum (APLF) on HIV/AIDS and Development.

Stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and gender inequality remain the two biggest challenges to AIDS prevention in South Asia, according to experts. A satellite session at the XV International AIDS Conference today reviewed the progress made and challenges in mounting an effective AIDS response in South Asia.

UNAIDS welcomes the announcement by the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, to more than double Australia’s funding for AIDS from AUS$ 250 million (US$ 180 million) to AUS$600 million (US$ 435 million) by 2010. The announcement was made in tandem with the appointment of Australia’s first Special Representative on HIV/AIDS.

Total global spending on AIDS has increased from US$1.2 billion in 2000 to an estimated US$6 billion this year – a five-fold increase – according to a new UNAIDS report released today. Without dramatic increases, there is still an expected shortfall of US$6 billion in 2005, according to UNAIDS. “Unless more resources are directed toward the global response, the gap between the need and available resources will grow significantly in coming years,” said Dr Paul De Lay, Director of Evaluation of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

Today the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) signed an agreement to tackle HIV among the uniformed services with Thailand’s Minister of Defence, General Chetta Thanajaro and the Minister of Public Health, Mrs. Sudarat Keyuraphan. Focusing on young men and women, all parties will work together to reduce the impact of HIV and increase prevention efforts.

AIDS activists from around the world, representing different movements, today called for concerted action aimed at ramping up HIV/AIDS health care services in low and middle-income countries.

Nationwide programmes to increase condom use in commercial sex, help drug injectors to use clean needles and cut risky sex between men are needed to reverse a growing HIV epidemic in Asia, according to leading scientists. In a report released ahead of the 15th International AIDS Conference on Sunday, the Monitoring the AIDS Pandemic (MAP) Network said that HIV was spreading rapidly in several Asian countries.