Activists called today for more funds to fight AIDS and the poverty fuelling the epidemic on the eve of the 14th International AIDS conference.
New figures show 40 million people are living with the virus and the numbers are expected to rise to 100 million within a decade. The majority of cases are in the world's poorest countries.
The charity ActionAid said ahead of tomorrow’s opening of the week-long AIDS conference in Barcelona, Spain, that nowhere near enough effort or money is being put into the fight against HIV/AIDS.
It warned the epidemic is wrecking economies, devastating communities and depriving poor nations of skilled workers.
The conference is the first international meeting since the launch last year of the United Nations' Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Total pledges to the fund currently stand at $2 billion, far short of its $7-10 billion annual target .
Much of the conference is expected to concentrate on the latest research into new drugs and better prevention programmes to tackle the epidemic.
A report by ActionAid shows that infant and child mortality rates are increasing in Africa. The average life expectancy for all Africans has fallen by 15 years within the past two decades as a direct result of HIV/AIDS.
Almost 12 million children under the age of five die each year, most from preventable disease, compared with 11 million in 1990.
Meanwhile, international aid to sub-Saharan Africa, which has been hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic, has fallen by 28 per cent in a decade, according to the report.