World health agencies confirmed for the first time that the AIDS pandemic is on a downward trend.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic that started 28 years ago and has killed more than 25 million people is now officially in decline.
In their 2009 AIDS report, UNAids and the World Health Organization confirmed the prognosis, saying that the number of new infections has declined by almost a third since peaking in the mid 1990s.
In 2008, the health agencies had warned that AIDS might have some more unpleasant surprises in store. But they are now more upbeat.
