A new UN report launched on Friday revealed that in the past decade, the global annual rate of new HIV infections dropped by nearly 25 percent as a record number of people accessed treatment.

The report titled "AIDS at 30 -- Nations at the Crossroads" from the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated that nearly 34 million people are currently living with HIV.

"We have come a long way since the first case of AIDS was reported 30 years ago," Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, said here in a press conference at the launch, "6.6 million people are now accessing treatment -- 1.4 million more than in 2009."

According to the report, at least 420,000 children were receiving antiretroviral therapy at the end of 2010 -- a more than 50 percent increase since 2008 when only 275,000 children were on treatment.

The report found that increasing numbers of pregnant women living with HIV gained access to antiretroviral prophylaxis during pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding.

The number of children newly infected with HIV in 2009 was 26 percent lower than in 2001.

"Access to treatment will transform the AIDS response in the next decade," Sidibe said. "We must invest in accelerating access and finding new treatment options."

With the global rate of new HIV infections fallen by nearly 25 percent between 2001 and 2009, the report spotlighted India, whose rate of new HIV infections decreased by more than 50 percent.

Both India and South Africa, which decreased by more than 35 percent of new HIV infections, have the largest number of people living with HIV on their continents, said the report.

With HIV prevention efforts showing results, the report found that in the third decade of the epidemic, people started to adopt safer sexual behaviors, but noted that gaps still remain.

"We still have a long way to go," urged Asha-Rose Migiro, UN deputy secretary-general, at the press conference. "Now we have to sustain this momentum and expand HIV services."

Despite expanded access to antiretroviral therapy, the report said that at the end of 2010, 9 million people who were eligible for treatment did not have access.

"Next week's high-level meeting is our chance to chart a new, bold path," Migiro said.

From June 8 to 10, some 20 heads of state and government will meet and come together to review progress and chart the future course of the global AIDS response at the 2011 UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS in New York.

It is expected that a new declaration will be adopted, which will reaffirm current commitments and commit to actions to guide and sustain the global AIDS response.

Xinhua