U.S. President Donald Trump has called on Congress to pass legislation to help end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country, saying such a goal was within reach.

This is contained in the President’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday. “My budget will ask Democrats and Republicans to make the needed commitment to eliminate the HIV epidemic in the U.S. within 10 years,” Trump said.

He noted “remarkable progress’’ made so far. Together we will defeat AIDS in America and beyond,’’ he noted.

Also on the health front, Trump pushed for more efforts to combat childhood cancer. Trump said he wanted to prioritise lowering the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs.

He said it was “unfair’’ drugs cost more in the U.S. than elsewhere in the world. We will stop it, we will stop it fast,’’ he said, while slamming “global freeloading’’ on prices.

HIV/AIDS is a global pandemic, as of 2017, approximately 36.9 million people are living with HIV globally. In 2018, approximately 43 per cent are women. There were about 940,000 deaths from AIDS in 2017. (dpa/NAN)

– Feb. 6, 2019 @ 11:12 GMT |