Prevention strategies should be improved in order to reduce transmission of HIV among those categories which are most at risk. This may lead to the conclusion that prevention is, perhaps, as important as treatment. HIV/AIDS infections are discovered very late, sometimes as long as 10 years after exposure, in approximately every third AIDS patient. Often, infected people have engaged in unprotected sex with many different partners during this time.

 

The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon noted during the 2008 World AIDS Day that although 3 million people are on antiretroviral therapy, people become infected at a faster rate than they can get into treatment.

 

Infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of blood, semen, vaginal fluid, pre-ejaculate, or breast milk. One of the major routes of transmission is unprotected sexual intercourse. About 56,000 people became infected with HIV in 2007, according to the revised estimate of HIV’s toll in the United States.

 

CDS’s estimates reveal that the HIV epidemic is worse than previously known. The number of new infections is 40 percent higher than earlier projections. The rate of HIV infection is progressively rising among black Americans and among “men who have sex with men,” the report said.

In a message posted on his official Web site, Obama pledged to developing a comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy to reduce HIV infection, increase access to treatment and care and reduce HIV/AIDS-related health disparities. He promised that his administration will continue the “critical work” to address the AIDS crisis around the world.