A child flies a kite with a red ribbon during a World AIDS Day event in Beijing November 30, 2008. REUTERS/Jason Lee (Reuters)
Some encouraging news on the AIDS front: The United Nations says a record 8 million people with HIV in poor countries received potentially life-saving treatment last year, and new infections among children are dropping.
Wednesday's report says the world is making progress toward targets of having 15 million people being treated by 2015, and of mostly eliminating new cases in children by treating HIV-infected pregnant women.
The report comes days before the world's largest AIDS conference opens in the nation's capital with the goal of finally "turning the tide" on the epidemic, citing research that suggests it's possible to dramatically stem the spread of the virus.
Some 34.2 million people worldwide are living with HIV, and 2.5 million became infected last year.
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