JOHANNESBURG - In an increasingly divided world, there was a rare moment of unity.
The UN has renewed its commitment to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Member states overwhelmingly backed a new declaration that sets ambitious global targets for HIV prevention, testing, treatment and funding over the next five years.
The agreement comes as the US withdraws funding that is shrinking international resources.
UNAIDS Eastern & Southern Africa's Anne Githuku-Shongwe said it is important for countries to work together to fight HIV/AIDS.
"Even in the midst of this global changing landscape, resources have dropped and donor countries are reducing their investments in many of our countries' development trajectories.
"It was fantastic to see all these countries come together and overwhelmingly support this declaration that retains the targets for testing and treatment.
"These are the target countries set to make sure they can bring HIV as a public health threat down in countries, so they recommitted to these targets and intensified the innovations that have emerged.
"South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe have launched a new drug that prevents HIV with two injections per year, it's called Lencavir. These are innovations, there's a push for an AIDS cure, an AIDS vaccine, so to make sure these innovations are still on the table and that countries will continue ensuring aids ends as a public health threat."