Speaking at the AIDS 2014 conference in
Melbourne, Australia on Wednesday, former president Bill Clinton said
an AIDS-free generation was “within our reach.”
Reaching that goal, Clinton said, would
require people were on good treatment to reduce the risk of passing
the virus during unprotected sex.
“Paediatric treatment continues to
lag behind in many countries,” he said. “We are trying to help
countries eliminate mother-to-child transmission and this is one of
the most exciting goals in public health and entirely achievable, and
essential to achieving an AIDS-free generation.”
“We need to scale up treatment to get
it to those who need it if an AIDS-free generation is to be within
our reach.”
Clinton added that combating stigma and
prejudice was essential to the goal.
“The AIDS-free world that so many of
you have worked for so long to build is just over the horizon. And
we just have to step up the pace,” Clinton said.
(Related: Over
100 AIDS conference attendees were aboard doomed Malaysian Airlines
flight MH17.)