On the eve of World AIDS Day, UNAIDS head Peter Piot said that stigma and discrimination remain major barriers to controlling the pandemic in Africa, where close to 30 million people are infected. Speaking to an audience in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Piot said the social prejudices suffered by people with AIDS could be as destructive as the disease itself. "Stigma silences individuals and communities, saps their strength, increases their vulnerability, isolates people and deprives them of care, of support," he said. "We must break down these barriers or the epidemic will have no chance of being pushed back," he added. Piot said there are encouraging signs that prevention efforts are bearing fruit among young people in Ethiopia and South Africa.

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