Estimated worldwide HIV infections: 54 963 092 at 12.07pm on Thursday December 4 2003.
Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary General, said Aids was a ‘weapon of mass destruction†for some countries and the world was losing the fight against the epidemic. He urged world leaders to do more to stem the spread of the disease.
‘In some of the countries we are talking about, Aids is a real weapon of mass destruction — and what are we doing about that?†Annan said in the interview with BBC World Service radio.
‘It does indicate a certain incredible callousness that one would not have expected in the 21st century.â€
The UN said in a report this week that deaths and new cases of HIV/Aids reached unprecedented highs this year and were set to keep rising.
‘I feel angry, I feel distressed, I feel helpless … to live in a world where we have the means … to be able to help all these patients, what is lacking is the political will,†Annan said.
Source: Reuters