Global AIDS Conference Wraps Up

 WASHINGTON D.C. — The 19th International AIDS Conference drew to a close in Washington, D.C., on Friday. 

Under the banner of "Turning the Tide Together," more than 20,000 delegates attended the six-day gathering¹, where speakers ranged from famous entertainers to high-level politicians to people working on the front lines of AIDS research.

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton addressed the conference's final session.

He said treating HIV-positive patients in some African countries is less costly² than previously³ thought. His organization, the Clinton Foundation, recently completed a cost study in several African countries, including Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia.

"Treatment costs an average of just $200 per patient per year. That includes the cost of drugs, diagnostic tests, personnel and outpatient costs. There is no excuse for failing to provide treatment to the remaining 10 million people in need." 

He also highlighted the logistical challenges of battling HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

"To eliminate mother-to-child transmission, we need to test and treat women earlier and keep them on the treatment longer throughout the entire period of breastfeeding, when many of them live miles and miles and miles from the place where they get their medicine today," he said.

Clinton said he has spoken to healthcare workers who say there is not enough funding for pregnant women and mothers. 

The United States says it is donating an additional $80 million to help eliminate mother-to-child infections by 2015. 

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the conference earlier in the week, saying the United States is committed to achieving an AIDS-free generation.

"We will not back off; we will not back down. We will fight for the resources to achieve this historic milestone⁴."

Researchers at the conference presented findings that highlight the benefits of treating HIV at the early stages of infection. One such study featured a group of HIV-positive patients in France. With early treatment, they could be taken off antiretroviral drugs and show no signs of a resurgence⁵ of their HIV infection.  

Michel Sidibe, the executive director of the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS said there needs to be more cure research.

"Today we should not just say, 'okay, let us have treatment.'  We should say, 'why not a cure?  Why not a vaccine⁶?' That is the area where we need to put our energy, and that will bring us certainly to the end of this epidemic," he said.    

Activists⁷ disrupted sessions and panels to demand greater funding and resources for research and for those living with HIV and AIDS. "We can end AIDS!  We can end AIDS!" were among the slogans heard at the gathering.

A conference attendee living with HIV told VOA that he finds the activism invigorating.

"That's what this is all about. It's all about getting up and getting angry again," he said.

The 19th International AIDS conference was held in the United States for the first time in 22 years, after President Barack Obama lifted restrictions⁸ on HIV-positive people entering the country. 

Conference organizers say there are still 46 countries, territories and areas that impose HIV-related travel restrictions.

The 20th International AIDS Conference will be held in Melbourne, Australia, in July 2014.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

5 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

6 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制