WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today in recognition of World AIDS Day:

"On World AIDS Day, we remember, we reflect, and we recommit to ending HIV/AIDS. This year's theme -- 'Universal Access and Human Rights' -- is a call to action, a sign of the continued urgency of this moral challenge, and a reminder that HIV/AIDS has not disappeared. The fight to end this disease must go on.

"The moral case alone is reason to act, but we also know that the spread of infectious diseases, especially HIV/AIDS, can destroy the very fabric of nations and create a 'fury of despair'. American leadership is essential to preventing suffering and instability in the developing world.

"Since the first World AIDS Day in 1988, we have made enormous progress. We have dramatically increased resources for both domestic and international HIV/AIDS prevention, care, treatment, and research. These investments have provided life-saving anti-retroviral treatment to millions of people while also taking critical steps to prevent millions of new HIV cases.

"Reiterating our commitment, Congress recently passed and President Obama signed into law the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act, continuing this essential lifeline of care, treatment, and support for more than half a million low-income Americans living with this disease. And when Congress and the President make the dream of health insurance reform a reality for all Americans, we will improve access to lifesaving medications and open the doors of high-quality medical care to more low-income, uninsured HIV-positive individuals before they confront the nightmare of full-blown AIDS.

"Today, on World AIDS Day, we remember all that we have lost, but also all that we have held onto -- our hope, our optimism, our steadfastness and determination to fight against this disease, to respond to the needs of the people who have it, and to one day end the HIV/AIDS pandemic."

SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House