Aline Beckstein
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Rio - The Brazilian AIDS Treatment Program is singled out for praise in the United Nations HIV/AIDS Program (UNAIDS) report that was presented officially, yesterday (31), at UN headquarters in New York. The Brazilian program includes a series of measures for the prevention and treatment of AIDS, as well as guaranteeing residents of Brazil free access to medications.

According to the report, 620 thousand people in Brazil are carriers of the HIV virus. This figure represents a third of all the HIV victims in Latin America. The document observes that, despite some progress in the global campaign against AIDS, nearly 39 million people suffer from the virus all over the world.

Last year 170 thousand of the 209 thousand Brazilians who required AIDS treatment were recipients of anti-retroviral therapy, including 30 thousand users of injectable drugs. The report informs that "in various Brazilian cities the number of HIV infections related to dangerous practices involving the use of injectable drugs is declining."

The document observes, however, that the number of young people who are having sexual relations at a younger age and with more partners is increasing. When interviewed, at least one in every three Brazilians between the ages of 15 and 24 said that he or she was sexually active before turning 15.

The 26th Special Session of the UN General Assembly on HIV and AIDS got underway yesterday and runs through tomorrow (2). The Brazilian representatives who are expected to attend include the ministers of Health, Agenor Álvares, and Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim.

According to the Ministry of Health's press office, Brazil plans to discuss introducing more flexibility into the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) as a way to enlarge global access to anti-retroviral medicines.

Translation: David Silberstein