"Most countries still have a long way to go to meet the goal" set two years ago at the General Assembly to move towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010, Mr. Ban said at the opening of the conference as part of his three-day trip to Mexico.  
 
Mr. Ban stressed that more resources are needed to combat the scourge in the coming decades as greater numbers of people receive treatment and live longer.
 
He welcomed the recent legislation passed in the United States earmarking $48 billion to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria over the next five years, and praised the commitment of the Group of Eight (G-8) industrialized nations to provide universal access to HIV prevention and treatment by 2010.
 
"Just as important, in most countries, stigma against people living with HIV remains a grave challenge," Mr. Ban told the conference. One third of countries lack laws to protect those living with HIV, and in many places, discrimination against women, men who have sex with men, sex workers, drug users and ethnic minorities is still legal.
 
"This must change," he said, calling for an end to discrimination against people living with HIV and members of vulnerable groups.
 
In those nations with legal protections in place, Mr. Ban pointed out that those living with HIV have greater access to services, resulting in fewer infections, less demand for anti-retroviral treatment and fewer deaths.
 
The International AIDS Conference is convened every other year by the International AIDS Society (IAS), the world's leading independent association of HIV professionals with more than 10,000 members from 172 countries. UN agencies serving as partners for AIDS 2008 include: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), World Health Organization (WHO) and World Food Programme (WFP).