Don't 'walk away' on AIDS

Bill Clinton pleaded with the world Friday not to abandon the campaign to rein in the HIV virus which still kills nearly a million people every year and infects twice as many.

The world must "hold the line" until a vaccine or cure is found, or face "calamitous" consequences, the US ex-president told the 22nd International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam

"There can be no Brexit in the fight against AIDS," said the founder of the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative, referring to Britain's decision to leave the European Union.

He cited UN data showing that 1.8 million people were newly infected in 2017 with the immune system-wrecking virus that causes AIDS. The year saw 940,000 deaths.

Decades of research have yet to yield a cure or vaccine for HIV, which has infected almost 80 million people and killed 35.4 million since the early 1980s.

"I am pleading with you," Clinton told the final day of the conference which saw some 15,000 delegates -- researchers, activists, and people living with HIV -- rub shoulders with celebrity activists Charlize Theron, Elton John, Prince Harry, and Conchita.

"It is something you can't walk away from," the statesman insisted.

Speaker after speaker in Amsterdam warned there was a high risk of losing control of the epidemic, with infections rising in some 50 countries as anti-AIDS funding dwindled.

Eastern Europe and central Asia saw a 30-percent surge in new HIV cases since 2010, which researchers say is fuelled by repressive laws leaving intravenous drug users without access to clean needles or help.

For Clinton, the most important message is to not give up on research, funding, and rolling out prevention and treatment.