U.N. report: HIV could be contained by 2030

UNITED NATIONS, July 16 (UPI) -- A United Nations report claims the HIV epidemic could be controlled by 2030, given the number of HIV cases stabilizing globally and the decrease in deaths from AIDS.

The report by UNAIDS was released Wednesday, prior to an AIDS conference this week in Melbourne, Australia. It notes the number of people infected with HIV, globally, remains steady at around 35 million.

The human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS, can be controlled with a once-daily pill, Truvada, or by a cocktail of drugs referred to as antiretroviral therapy. The UNAIDS report said although Truvada and the cocktail treatment can be prohibitively expensive for those lacking health insurance, 12.9 million HIV-positive people had access to treatment in 2013 -- a 22 percent improvement over 2012. "The world has witnessed extraordinary changes in the AIDS landscape. There have been more achievements in the past five years than in the preceding 23 years," the report states.

According to UNAIDS, $19.1 billion was available for AIDS-related spending in 2013, with the estimated need for 2015 between $22 billion and $24 billion.

"We have a fragile five-year window to build on the rapid results that been made. If we accelerate all HIV scale-up by 2020, we will be on track to end the epidemic by 2030. If not, we risk significantly increasing the time it would take -- adding a decade, if not more," said UNAIDS director Michel Sidibe.