Through the long struggle against HIV, it has become clear that human rights are central to effective national response sto HIV. Where human rights are not protected, people are more vulnerable to HIV infection. Where the human rights of HIV-positive people are not protected, they suffer stigma and discrimination, become ill, become unable to support themselves and their families, and if not provided treatment, they die. Where rates of HIV prevalence are high and treatment is lacking, whole communities are devastated by the impact of the virus. Between 1981 and 2007, some 65 million people became infected with HIV and some 25 million died of AIDS. HIV has spread to every country in the world and, in the hardest-hit countries, it is undoing most of the development gains of the past 50 years.