NEW YORK, July 21 (UPI) -- The head of the World Health Organization says he'll provide 3 million HIV and AIDS patients in poor nations with anti-retroviral drugs within two years.
On his first day in office Monday, Dr Jong-wook Lee, a South Korean tuberculosis expert, told the BBC tackling the HIV pandemic will be his top priority.
He said supplying the latest anti-retroviral drugs for HIV-positive people in Africa is a realistic goal.
Lee appointed a senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Dr. Jack Chow, as the new WHO AIDS chief. Chow will head a newly created department designed to fine-tune WHO's battle against AIDS.
Lee also said a new global AIDS plan will be announced on World AIDS Day in December.
Last year alone, 3 million people died worldwide from AIDS, and 5 million were newly infected with HIV, according to the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. About 42 million are living with the virus.
