UN calls for bold, courageous response to AIDS

VIENNA - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said Friday that more needs to be done to cut AIDS spread, in spite of a levelling off of AIDS cases worldwide.

In a statement to coincide with the World AIDS Day, UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov said HIV infections among drug users had increased gravely, which had led to a rise of new epidemics in some countries.

Furthermore, he said countries were showing "marked reluctance" to address the HIV situation in prisons and other closed settings.

"Halting and reversing the spread of HIV among drug users and in prisons remains an important but ambitious target," Fedotov said in a press release by the United Nations Information Service Vienna (UNIS).

He added the problem was avoidable and could be completely reversed, but that "bold and courageous responses" were required.

To mark the World Aids Day which falls on December 1, a red ribbon will illuminate the United Nations Office in Vienna, the UNIS stated.