BRUSSELS, Dec 1 (AFP) - European Commission President Romano Prodi on Saturday confirmed the EU executive body's commitment to the battle against AIDS as countries worldwide were marking World AIDS Day.
The European Union is to release hundreds of millions of euros (dollars) for research into serious illnesses such as AIDS between 2002 and 2006, according to the commission.
"We are going to increase our work and improve our results," Prodi said. "We must not abandon those who are ill."
The European Commission adopted a programme in February to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in the world's poorest countries. Some 130 million euros have already been devoted to research into these diseases since 1998. On Friday, EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said a greater effort was needed to get low-priced AIDS medicine to underdeveloped countries.
Inside the European Union, the first action programme against AIDS was launched in 1991. Since then some 100 million euros have been spent on information, prevention, support and fighting discrimination of people affected by AIDS.
Among the most important results of this initiative was the creation of the "Euro-HIV project" to monitor the epidemic in Europe. "These efforts will continue within the framework of a new public health programme which will be adopted next year," the Commission indicated.
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