( CNN ) -- It should be time to celebrate key milestones in the fight against HIV and AIDS . Recently , the United Nations announced that new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths fell to their lowest levels since the epidemic 's peak . Today , 6.6 million people in low- and middle-income countries are on life-saving antiretroviral therapy , and people with HIV are living longer . These gains are significant . But because of the shortsightedness of many wealthy countries , we are once again at risk of losing an opportunity to contain and control this deadly epidemic . The announcement by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) of these gains was quickly followed by much more sobering news . The Global Fund to Fight AIDS , Tuberculosis and Malaria -- the main financier of HIV programs around the world -- reported deep funding shortfalls as Western countries shrink or skip their promised Global Fund payments . The Global Fund is freezing expenditures for existing HIV treatment programs and removing hundreds of millions in funding for new programs . The result ? Fewer people on HIV treatment , more HIV , more AIDS , more orphans , more misery , more death . The world has been on the cusp of a promising new era in combating HIV before . At the 2005 G8 Summit in Gleneagles , Scotland , the globe 's most powerful economies committed to fund universal access to HIV prevention , treatment and care by 2010 . The global community fell short by half . Because of that , there were millions of new -- preventable -- HIV infections , with widespread morbidity and mortality and massive economic and social costs . Tragically , the HIV pandemic continued to expand . Earlier this year , at the U.N. , the same players renewed their pledge to fund universal access by 2015 . Yet we now hear news of shrinking resources in the face of massive need . Let 's be clear -- the United States is a leader in funding the fight against HIV . Since then-President George W. Bush 's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ( PEPFAR ) launched in 2003 , U.S. support has provided millions of HIV-infected people with access to antiretroviral therapy . Today , the U.S. commitment remains strong , through the Obama administration 's National HIV/AIDS StrategyÂ in America and Global Health Initiative , and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 's recent call for an AIDS-free generation . Clinton 's goal hinges on a handful of key initiatives , including the immediate expansion of a program known as `` treatment as prevention '' and a corresponding increase in funding for the Global Fund . Treatment as prevention , which calls for widespread testing for HIV and treatment for those testing positive , was pioneered at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in British Columbia , Canada . Effective treatment of a person living with HIV puts the virus into virtual long-term remission and dramatically reduces its transmission , preventing further infections . Leading global health organizations such as the International AIDS Society , UNAIDS and the Clinton Foundation support the expansion of `` treatment as prevention '' programs worldwide , calling the preventive benefit of treatment a `` game-changer '' in the fight against HIV . Further compelling evidence that treatment as prevention works was provided by a U.S. clinical trial ( HPTN052 ) in May 2011 . It found that immediate antiretroviral treatment of an HIV-infected person whose partner does not have HIV reduced AIDS-related morbidity and mortality in the HIV-infected partner by 41 % and decreased HIV transmission to the sexual partner by 96 % . Together , these results were instrumental in persuading the international community to renew the universal access pledge . UNAIDS says that 12.2 million new HIV infections and 7.4 million HIV-related deaths could be averted between 2011 and 2020 if funding is scaled up to $ 24 billion annually by 2015 . The dollars required are considerable , but -- considering that the G8 pledged $ 40 billion virtually on the spot for the Arab Spring -- fully affordable . Funding universal access is not just a moral and ethical obligation ; it is also highly cost-effective . China gets it . The world 's most populous country is implementing a national treatment as prevention strategy to help China meet its goal of bringing HIV and AIDS under control by 2015 . Under its program , China conducted nearly 67 million HIV tests in the first 10 months of this year . The global effort to combat HIV can not afford further delays , as the magnitude and impact of the pandemic grow relentlessly . Today , 34 million people live with HIV and 7.6 million people require treatment . We continue to play catch-up . For every one person who starts HIV treatment , two become infected with HIV . It is time to fully fund the Global Fund , so we can meet the universal access pledge and realize the goal of an AIDS-free generation . Millions of lives depend on it . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Julio Montaner .
Julio Monanter : UNAIDS announces HIV infections , AIDS deaths down from peak . Montaner : The number of new cases in the United States has fallen to a record low and is now at its lowest level since 2001. Global Fund to fight AIDS has deep shortfalls , he writes , is cutting new programs . Wealthy nations must renew pledges , he says , or many more will die , become infected .