Bill Clinton pleaded with the world Friday not to abandon the campaign to rein in the HIV virus which still kills nearly a million people every year and infects twice as many.
The world must "hold the line" until a vaccine or cure is found, or face "calamitous" consequences, the US ex-president told the 22nd International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam
"There can be no Brexit in the fight against AIDS," said the founder of the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative, referring to Britain's decision to leave the European Union.
"Through a combination of complacency in some places and outright hostility to global multinational cooperative efforts in others, there is a serious risk that many people will say: 'Let's quit doing this'," Clinton told delegates.
"That would be calamitous."
He cited UN data showing that 1.8 million people were newly infected in 2017 with the immune system-wrecking virus that causes AIDS. The year saw 940,000 deaths.
Among 36.9 million people estimated to be living with HIV last year, 15.2 million had no access to life-saving virus-suppressing therapy (ART).
"Approximately 35 people will die while I'm up here talking," said Clinton.
Decades of research have yet to yield a cure or vaccine for HIV, which has infected almost 80 million people and killed 35.4 million since the early 1980s.
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