Former President of America, Bill Clinton has called for the first AIDS-free generation by increasing the scale of HIV prevention and treatment across the globe. Clinton has said that the biggest issue for defeating AIDS would be early detection. Speaking about the issue, he said:
“New data from 51 countries suggests 70 percent of HIV-related deaths could have been prevented. The evidence continues to build that early treatment helps prevent further transmissions.”
The comment came at the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia. Clinton also went on to note that:
“We are here on this 20th anniversary of the conference to celebrate so much of the progress that has been made because the world has made the right decision to fight against AIDS and to create a generation free of it.”
Currently, there are over thirty million people with HIV, across the globe, but less than a third of these people have access to treatment that has any chance of working – most notably antiretroviral treatment.
According to reports, approximately two million people are infected with HIV on a yearly basis; roughly 20,000 of these are infants and children.
Throughout Clinton’s speech, there was a protest calling for the implementation of a so called ‘Robin Hood’ tax. This is a small tax on financial transactions such as trade in bonds, currency, shares and derivatives.
The protestors, who carried banners that read “End AIDS with Robin Hood Tax”, have cited economic experts that have said such a tax would not harm financial markets and would be simple to design and implement. One of the protestors said:
“The Robin Hood tax would finally ensure that the rhetoric on ending AIDS would become reality. People with HIV and communities at greatest risk of HIV infection around the world are waiting for life-saving treatments and services but global leaders are failing to act.”