健康英语新闻:50% of AIDS patients in L. America receive treatment

PANAMA CITY, April 17 (Xinhua) -- In Latin America there are 600,000 people infected with the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and about 50 percent of them receive treatment, regional director of UNAIDS for Latin America Cesar Nunez said on Sunday.

"We have to work a lot for the other half get treatment," Nunez told Xinhua during the 124th Assembly of the Inter-parliamentarian Assembly hosted in Panama City from April 15 to 20.

Nunez urged the governments of the region to redouble efforts to control this pandemic, by improving the prevention campaigns to stop new infections.

"The availability of the medicines has grown in the last 10 years and the countries have taken this commitment, however, the number of infections each time is bigger than the number of people we can treat," he said.

According to Nunez, despite the increase of new infections among women, the men sector continue being one of the most affected social groups by this virus.

"In Latin America we have an epidemic where the most affected are men, followed by homosexuals, lesbians and sex workers," he said.

Nunez said that during the meeting with the parliamentarians, they exchanged experiences to contribute to improve the management of this disease.

"We have met with parliamentarians who have voted for more budget to buy more medicines, in favor of laws for more education about this topic and participation in the exchange of information to know about the advances and backwards of the fight against Aids," he said.

Some 800 parliamentarians from 125 countries attended the 124th Assembly to debate the recent events in the Arab world, the disaster in Japan and sustainable development.