Medical breakthroughs and new treatments have changed the face of AIDS in the United States.

Contracting the disease here is no longer an automatic death sentence. New drug treatments are leading to longer, quality lives for HIV/AIDS sufferers. New infections among intravenous drug users and African-Americans actually dropped last year for the first time since AIDS was identified

But on this, the 18th annual World AIDS Day, the bad news still overwhelms the good.

More than 3 million people died from AIDS in the past year; 40 million – including men, women and children – are infected with HIV or AIDS and 5 million new people were infected this year.

The theme for this year’s World AIDS Day is “Keep the Promise,” a reminder to the governments of the world that they have not met their commitment to fighting the spread of HIV and AIDS. In 2001, all 189 members of the United Nations made a commitment to meet specific goals in regard to the fight against AIDS. Included were goals for 2005: reduce HIV prevalence among young men and women by 25 percent in the most affected countries; ensure that 90 percent of young people have access to information, education and services necessary to reduce vulnerability to HIV infection; reduce the number of infants infected by mother-to-child transmission by 20 percent; and increase annual spending to $7 billion to $10 billion in low- and middle-income countries.

Those goals have not been met. Five years since the world agreed to stop AIDS, much of the world remains within its grip. It will take political will and a commitment to emphasize prevention – as well as treatment – to bring it under control.

Twelve thousand people are infected with HIV/AIDS every day. The world is a long way from keeping its promise.