US President Donald Trump on Sunday reaffirmed his commitment of eradicating HIV/AIDS from the country in 10 years.
"On World AIDS Day, The First Lady and I express our support for those living with HIV/AIDS and mourn the lives lost. We reaffirm our commitment to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in America, community by community where we will eradicate AIDS in 10 years, program already started. American leadership has proven that together we can save lives," he tweeted.
Trump had made the announcement during his State of the Union address in February this year, where he said that his administration aims to reduce new HIV infections by 75 per cent in five years and 90 per cent by 2020, The Hill reported.
Earlier in the day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres took a step forward on the occasion of World AIDS Day to spread awareness against the disease which affects a record 38 million people.
"A record 38 million people live with HIV- but resources for the response declined by $ 1 billion last year. On #WorldAIDSDay let's reaffirm our commitment to ending this epidemic by 2030 - scaling up access to health service, fighting stigma & ensuring people enjoy their rights", he tweeted.
Every year, December 1 is marked as the World AIDS Day, the day of awareness about HIV/AIDS and remembrance for those who have lost their lives to the disease.
The day is an opportunity for the people around the globe to unite in the fight against HIV, and to extend a hand of relief to the ones affected by the virus.
According to UNAIDS, 24.5 million people living with HIV have access to treatment today because communities have fought for it every day since the start of the epidemic.
India has worked extensively in educating people, spreading awareness and fighting the epidemic. The effort is still in progress to completely bring the number down ensuring no one is fighting the battle alone.
( With inputs from ANI )