( CNN ) -- Travel back in time with me to 1988 : Guns N ' Roses was blasting onto the music scene , Dustin Hoffman turned in an award-winning performance in Rain Man , and Nike coined the now-famous tag line , `` Just Do It . '' But the year also brought a cultural touchstone with much deeper significance : the first World AIDS Day . The importance of such a day -- to be held annually on December 1st -- could not be understated , particularly at a time when the disease was still widely misunderstood , and a diagnosis often meant a death sentence . Twenty-five years on , it is difficult to imagine a world without World AIDS Day ( or without AIDS , for that matter ) . But in the quarter century since the first World AIDS Day , much has changedâ€ ” so much so , in fact , that leaders have begun to call for `` the beginning of the end of AIDS , '' a global tipping point when the number of people newly infected with HIV is surpassed by the number of people newly offered treatment . A new study released by The ONE Campaign this week demonstrates just how far we 've come , and suggests that if current rates of progress continue , the world will reach `` the beginning of the end of AIDS '' as early as 2015 . Reaching this milestone would have been unimaginable just a few years ago , and is testament to the immense global effort and impressive new science that has emerged , particularly in the last decade . That acceleration has also been fueled by the simple fact that AIDS treatment now works better , and costs far less . In 1988 , the only drug available to treat HIV/AIDS was AZT ; it was not hugely effective , and it cost as much as a car . Today , for the price of an iPhone -- less than a dollar a day -- combination antiretroviral treatment allows HIV-positive individuals to not only stay alive , but live long and productive lives . The progress we 've made also means that the language we use to describe the AIDS pandemic needs a refresh . In particular , ONE 's report stresses that it 's time to retire the phrase `` AIDS in Africa . '' Of course , this does n't mean the disease has disappeared from the continent , but it does mean that African countries have made widely divergent progress , and that a one-size-fits-all approach no longer makes sense . In fact , 16 African countries have already achieved the beginning of the end of AIDS . Countries like Ghana , Zambia , and Malawi are leading the way , deftly combining their own domestic health financing and planning with donor aid to achieve real impact . Political leadership has also been important in elevating HIV/AIDS as a priority issue on the national agenda , supported ( and sometimes pushed ) by dynamic civil society organizations on the ground . It 's important that we celebrate all of this progress , and honor those who have worked so hard to make it happen . But the work is far from over , and in many ways , the AIDS fight today is struggling precisely because of its own success . Because it is no longer perceived as an emergency , but rather a chronic and manageable disease , the fight has lost some of its political momentum and funding has not grown to match the global need . UNAIDS estimates that the funding needed to fight AIDS is still at least $ 3-5 billion short each year . With a few exceptions , donor funding for AIDS has stalled . Compounding this problem , only six African governments are meeting their commitments to spend 15 % of their national budgets on health . These trends must be reversed -- and quickly -- in order to accelerate progress . Insufficient money is not the only thing holding back the global AIDS response . Although treatment programs have grown massively -- they now reach nearly 10 million people around the world -- too many people are still being left behind . In the coming years , the world must do a better job at adapting treatment and prevention programs to reach those most at-risk , including LGBT populations , drug users , and sex workers . Doing so will , in some cases , require a sea-change in how these populations are treated . On a political level , leaders can do more to ensure that the HIV/AIDS responses in their countries are more equitable and free of stigma , as the first lady of Zambia , Christine Kaseba-Saba , recently did in a statement rejecting homophobia . Equally important , donors must make sure that their resources are appropriately targeting these at-risk groups and tailored to match the unique nature of local and national epidemics . Each World AIDS Day forces the world into a moment of reflection and accountability . On this 25th anniversary , we have much progress to celebrate , but we can not allow complacency to set in before we 're even halfway home . As we close in on a global tipping point and look to defeat AIDS within our lifetimes , we must pick up the pace . We have the tools to defeat the epidemic , but we need reinvigorated political will and new resources from the public and private sectors . The message this year should be : Let 's work harder , together , to make the beginning of the end of AIDS a reality . Or , to borrow from Nike 's 1988 ad : `` Just do it . '' The opinions in this commentary are solely those of Erin Hohlfelder .
25 years on from the first World AIDS Day , much progress has been made in fight against AIDS . Erin Hohlfelder says 16 African countries have passed the `` beginning of end of AIDS '' tipping point . `` Treatment now works better , and costs less , allowing people with AIDS to live long , productive lives '' even if they are not cured.