UNAIDS warned that the number of people living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has risen in every region of the world and last year five million people became newly infected with HIV -- more people than any previous year. These findings are contained in the 2004 UNAIDS Report of the global AIDS epidemic, released today in advance of the XV International AIDS Conference, to be held in Bangkok from 11-16 July 2004. The new report represents the most accurate picture of AIDS to date due to the more comprehensive country surveillance data and improved methods for estimating HIV rates.

Geneva, 25 June 2004 – Today the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is pleased to announce that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has joined UNAIDS as the tenth Cosponsor. Together with the nine existing Cosponsors, UNHCR will help broaden and strengthen the UN’s response to the global AIDS epidemic.

UNAIDS particularly commends the agreement on supporting the United Nations General Assembly Special Session Declaration on HIV/AIDS and the summit’s statement on paragraph 6 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration on TRIPS, dealing with ensuring availability of medicines for those most in need.

UNAIDS today calls on the International Monetary Fund to prioritise the impact of the AIDS epidemic and the need of the government of Zambia to invest in a sustained and urgent response, when reviewing the country's progress in meeting the conditions of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility agreed in April this year.

Today efforts to combat HIV among peacekeeping troops bound for Haiti have received a significant boost. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and representatives from the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) have arrived in the country to develop an HIV/AIDS programme for the newly established peacekeeping mission before the arrival of the main contingent of troops.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) today welcomed the G-8's endorsement of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, a virtual consortium proposed by an international group of scientists that is being established to accelerate HIV vaccine development.

HIV-positive 31 year-old South African Musa Njoko has been nominated by UNAIDS to participate in this year’s Olympic Torch Relay, to be held in Cape Town on Saturday 12 June 2004.

The World AIDS Campaign (WAC) has challenged governments of the G8 countries to help save millions of lives by honouring the commitment they made when they signed the global AIDS compact at the United Nations three years ago.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in which both organisations agreed to combine their efforts to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, particularly among the sport community. The signing ceremony took place at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne in the presence of IOC President Jacques Rogge and UNAIDS Executive Director Dr Peter Piot.

The Joint United Nations Programme (UNAIDS) welcomes the decision taken by women health ministers today to form an international network to address the growing inequalities women face in accessing basic health services, including HIV care and prevention services.