The HIV/Aids epidemic in Africa will explode again unless parents and teachers start to talk to teenagers about sex, experts have warned.

Aids has become the leading cause of death for adolescents in Africa and the second leading cause of death among adolescents globally, according to global health agencies.

The world has finally reached the beginning of the end of the Aids pandemic that has infected and killed millions in the past 30 years, according to a leading campaign group fighting HIV.

New HIV infections and deaths from Aids are decreasing, the United Nations said, making it possible to control the epidemic by 2030 and eventually end it "in every region, in every country".

THE head of the United Nations Aids programme called yesterday for an increase in access to drugs that help treat or prevent the spread of the disease, saying it is morally wrong to keep millions of people off lifesaving medication.

The United Nations Aids agency urged increased funding for early treatment of people with HIV following a new international study showing it could dramatically reduce the number of new infections through sexual transmission.

A SHARP rise in the number of people with HIV/Aids in Ireland this year suggests almost 6,000 have the illness, the majority of whom are under 40 and Irish-born.

The world Aids epidemic has slowed with a 20% decrease in new HIV infections over the past decade, the United Nations said.

The pope has approved using condoms even if they mean avoiding a possible pregnancy, providing they stop the transmission of HIV to a partner.

THE United Nations AIDS agency has welcomed the Pope’s comments that condom use might be justified in some cases, but has cautioned they were only a first step toward making the use of condoms acceptable among Catholics.

A new gel can block the Aids virus, halving a woman’s chances of getting HIV from an infected partner, US scientists say.

YOUNG people in Africa are leading a “revolution” in HIV prevention and driving down rates of the disease by having safer sex and fewer sexual partners, the United Nations AIDS programme said yesterday.

A UNITED NATIONS report said new HIV infections were increasing among homosexuals, drug users and prostitutes.

A United Nations report said new HIV infections were increasing among homosexuals, drug users and prostitutes.

AN experimental vaccine has prevented infection with the Aids virus for the first time, a breakthrough in the fight against the deadly illness.

An experimental vaccine has prevented infection with the Aids virus for the first time, a breakthrough in the fight against the deadly illness.

Researchers said for the first time an experimental vaccine has cut the risk of infection with the deadly Aids virus.

ONE of the world’s top medical journals accused Pope Benedict XVI yesterday of having distorted scientific evidence in his remarks on condom use and demanded he make a retraction.

AFTER 27 years and the loss of more than 25 million lives, the global Aids pandemic has at last stabilised, but more funds and a breakthrough in disease prevention are needed to sustain this progress and roll back the threat, UNAIDS said yesterday.

PEOPLE with HIV are regularly bullied at work because of their health status while many are afraid to disclose their condition because of a fear of stigma and discrimination, according to campaigners.

THE Sexual Health Centre welcomes the reduction of VAT on condoms, removing them from the category of “luxury item”.

THE United Nations yesterday sharply reduced its estimate for the number of people worldwide infected with the AIDS virus, citing a significant reassessment of HIV prevalence in India.

HETEROSEXUAL men should undergo circumcision because of “compelling” evidence that it can reduce their chances of contracting HIV by up to 60%, according to UN health agencies.

Heterosexual men should undergo circumcision because of “compelling” evidence that it can reduce their chances of contracting HIV by up to 60%, according to UN health agencies.

South Africa came under withering attacks at the closing of the week-long global Aids conference yesterday, with some of the world’s leading Aids experts accusing the government of ignoring the epidemic and promoting “lunatic” prevention methods.

Increased funding for HIV/Aids programmes will put Ireland at the forefront of the global fight against the killer diseases, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern vowed tonight.

The United Nations has praised the role Irish people played in the global fight against Aids.

THE global battle against HIV/Aids shows no sign of letting up a quarter-century into an epidemic that has claimed 25 million lives, the head of the UN’s HIV/AIDSjoint programme warned yesterday.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is to hold face-to-face talks with UN secretary general Kofi Annan in New York early next month, it emerged tonight.

Oscar-nominee Naomi Watts is joining the fight against Aids by becoming the United Nations' latest celebrity envoy.

BIRD flu poses a major threat to Africa’s fight against its AIDS epidemic, challenging overburdened healthcare systems and stretching economies already hit by the impact of HIV, the UN’s AIDS chief said yesterday.

ALMOST five million people were infected by HIV globally in 2005, the highest jump since the first reported case in 1981 and taking the number living with the virus to a record 40.3 million, the United Nations said yesterday.

Prison reformers tonight accused Justice Minister Michael McDowell of pursuing ignorant anti-drugs policies after he revealed plans for a zero tolerance crackdown on jailed addicts.

The number of people living with HIV around the world has reached its highest level, with more than 40 million now infected, a report revealed today.

AN AIDS epidemic is “galloping” through impoverished Papua New Guinea, spread by polygamous marriages and inadequate government health and education programmes, United Nations officials warn.

The Asia-Pacific region faces a “silent tsunami” as HIV/Aids rates soar in an area that is home to more than half the world’s population, a United Nations chief says.

STRESSING the benefits of olive oil, garlic and beetroot, South Africa’s health minister yesterday said good nutrition was just as important as anti-retroviral medicines for people infected with the AIDS virus and that her government would not be pressured into meeting UN treatment targets.

Stressing the benefits of olive oil, garlic and beetroot, South Africa’s health minister today said good nutrition was just as important as anti-retroviral medicines for people infected with the Aids virus and that her government would not be pressured into meeting UN treatment targets.

MORE than 80 million Africans may die from AIDS by 2025, the United Nations said in a report released yesterday, and infections could soar to 90 million - or more than 10% of the continent's population - if more isn't done soon to fight the disease.

The Ugandan leader credited with slashing HIV rates in his country insisted today that abstinence and loving relationships in marriage are crucial to fighting Aids.

The global fight against AIDS is falling short and leaders need to act as women bear the brunt of the killer disease, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said yesterday.

Hollywood actor Richard Gere launched his HIV and AIDS prevention campaign in India’s financial and entertainment capital of Bombay today, roping in Indian film and sports stars to convey a safe-sex message to the country’s billion plus people.

AROUND 4.8 million people, the most ever recorded in a single year, became infected with HIV in 2003, a UN agency said as it warned that Eastern Europe and Asia were just behind Africa as the plum targets for AIDS.

THE annual world death rate from Aids would wipe out the Irish population in a year and a half, a senior UN official warned yesterday.