欧盟及其成员国的致辞.pdfVIP

COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION EN Brussels, 1 December 2011 17567/11 PRESSE 451 Statement of the EU and its Member States on World AIDS Day 1. Today, on the World AIDS Day 2011, the European Union and its Member States joins with people across the world in memory of the relatives, friends and belove d ones who have lost their lives to AIDS and reaffirms its commitment to support all those who live with HIV and all those who are affected by the epidemic. 2. This year is a special anniversary. It has been 30 years since the world learned about HIV and AIDS. In December 1981, the first AIDS cases were discovered. 30 years of struggle and personal sacrifice of millions of people, 30 years of more than 30 million lives lost and 16 million children orphaned by AIDS. HIV and AIDS have touched all countries and countless communities and families. Today, an estimated 33.3 million people live with HIV worldwide and more than 7.000 new infections occur every day, mostly among people in low and middle income countries. 3. But it has also been 30 years of commitment and partnership at levels never seen before. Responding to HIV has taught us a lot about the importance of partnership, dialogue and the centrality of human rights and human dignity. Impressive progress has been made, globally leading to a nearly 20 per cent decline in the number of new HIV infections in the past deca