AIDS Conference Concluding After Debate on Funding

 WASHINGTON, D.C. —  More than 20,000 participants are wrapping up the global AIDS conference in Washington, after a week of events intended to invigorate efforts to halt the epidemic¹. While scientists and international policy makers² discussed research and effective governmental programs to help those infected with HIV, thousands of activists³ spent part of the week demonstrating against what they consider inadequate⁴ funding for the fight against the disease.

All week participants discussed medical advances and strategies in the fight against AIDS.

One panel on Thursday was disrupted by protesters calling for increased funding to end an epidemic that has killed around 30 million people since the 1980s.

A vaccine⁵ is still out of reach. But researchers say the epidemic can be stopped because people with HIV who undergo treatment are less likely to spread the virus that causes AIDS.

The Thursday panel focused on the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis⁶ and Malaria⁷. General Manager Gabriel Jaramillo seemed to agree with the demonstrators, saying it is fine to set intermediary goals.

"But at the end, anybody that is infected by HIV/AIDS has to have treatment," he said. "And we have to have that as our maximum goal and that is what the Global Fund of the next five years is gearing up to."

The question, though, is who will pay for that at a time when the U.S. and other donor⁸ countries - that have spent billions of dollars fighting AIDS - face economic crises at home.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been promoting "country ownership," meaning that governments in the developing world should take more responsibility for the epidemic.

More than 34 million people are now infected with HIV. And around 70 percent live in Africa.

This AIDS conference was the first to be held in the United States in more than 20 years. The hiatus was the result of a travel ban on people with HIV that President Barack Obama lifted two years ago.

1 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

2 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

5 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

6 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

7 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

8 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。