On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the first medical report of AIDS Terrence Higgins Trust is calling for renewed international action to tackle the World-wide epidemic.

Nick Partridge, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) is currently at the United Nations' comprehensive review and high level meeting on HIV and AIDS in New York, where the 'Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS' will be reviewed.

Nick said "It's 25 years since the first report of AIDS.  HIV is preventable and treatable, but we are still seeing record numbers of new diagnoses each year, both in the UK and abroad.

"Progress on tackling AIDS has been made but there is still much to do. Last year 3 million people died with AIDS and for every five people in the developing world who need HIV drugs, only one person gets them.  We need widespread prevention programmes and a greater commitment from governments and pharmaceutical companies to making anti-retroviral drugs widely available.  Without this we're fighting a losing battle."

Prevention work is vital and successes have already been seen with campaigns reducing the spread of HIV in some countries including Thailand and Brazil.  Access to testing is an essential element as the vast majority of people living with HIV are unaware of their infection.  The health infrastructure in many countries also needs to be strengthened if progress is to be made on tackling the epidemic.  Antireterovirals need to be made affordable and available to those who need them.  Second and third line treatments will also be in higher demand as drug resistance becomes more prevalent.

The UN comprehensive review and high level meeting on HIV and AIDS is assessing progress thus far and outlining what more needs to be done in order to meet the international commitments on tackling the epidemic.

Notes to editors:

• The 25th anniversary of the first medical report of AIDS is June 5th.
• The United Nations' Comprehensive Review and High-Level Meeting on AIDS is taking place from 31 May - 2 June.  UN member states will review their progress in meeting the targets they set in 2001 during a special session of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS.
• Terrence Higgins Trust is the UK's leading HIV and sexual health charity, providing a wide range of services for over 50,000 people a year.  The charity also campaigns and lobbies for greater political and public understanding of the personal, social and medical impact of HIV and sexual health.