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Annan demands Aids action

This is the first time the body has devoted a special session to discussing a health issue.

The meeting opened with a minute's silence to commemorate the 22 million people who have died of the disease.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell announced that the United States will provide more money to a global fund to fight the disease and will continue to lead the world in financing Aids research.

He said that the 36 million people afflicted with the HIV virus or Aids must be treated with "compassion, not ostracism".

Click here for graph showing extent of the HIV/Aids epidemic

But he stressed that the key to ending the epidemic is "prevention, prevention and more prevention.

Relentless action

"From this moment on, our response to Aids must be no less comprehensive, no less relentless, and no less swift than the pandemic itself," he said.

The retired four-star general and former chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff went on: "No war on the face of the world is more destructive than the Aids pandemic.

"I was a soldier. I know of no enemy in war more insidious or vicious than Aids, an enemy that poses a clear and present danger to the world. The war against Aids has no front lines. We must wage it on every front."

Health experts and activists hope the meeting can prove a landmark in the fight to stop the disease's spread.

More money

Mr Annan also called for a change of attitude towards the disease.

"We cannot deal with Aids by making moral judgements or refusing to face unpleasant facts - and still less by stigmatising those who are infected and making out that it is all their fault," he said.

Mr Annan called for more money to be put towards a fund for fighting Aids and related illnesses.

He said between $7 billion and $10 billion was needed annually to deal with the disease.

So far three countries - the United States, Britain and France - have made contributions to the fund along with three private donations, reaching a total of just $528 million.

The three days of conferences and meetings will end on Wednesday and will touch on everything from drug prices and Aids orphans to homosexuality.

More than 20 heads of state are attending, mainly from Africa, where some countries have seen the disease infect one in five of the adult population.

The conference is aiming to set out a worldwide strategy for tackling the disease and halting its spread.

Disagreements

But the conference is also likely to highlight disagreements among governments dealing with the disease.

Some oppose the promotion of condoms and safe sex, while others see HIV/Aids as an issue of poverty as much as health.

The conference will also give activists and governments the chance to highlight their special areas of concern.

Since its identification 20 years ago, Aids is estimated to be mankind's worst epidemic since the bubonic plague swept across 14th century Europe.

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