People living in West and Central Africa are the worst affected by HIV and Aids on the continent. Only a third of them have access to treatment, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAIDS).
Shortfall in funding
The main reasons for the lack of access are inventory shortages, corruption, mismanagement and a lack of political will to make sufficient funds available, delegates said at the conference, which began last Saturday in Cape Town.
Global Aids funding falls about a fifth short of the annual 24 billion dollars necessary to get a handle on the disease, according to UNAIDS.
"HIV testing needs to be simpler, quicker, more cost-effective and more widely available, so that we can fast-track life-saving treatments," said Michel Sidibe, executive director at UNAIDS.
The situation in southern Africa, meanwhile, has improved. High HIV/Aids prevalence countries – including South Africa, Malawi and Kenya – have increased access to treatment by up to 80 per cent, UNAIDS data show.