BANGKOK, July 14 (Xinhuanet) -- A UN official said Wednesday that national and international response to the HIV/AIDS remains "wholly inadequate" and leaders must put their commitments into action.

    The collective efforts did not save the 3 million people who died of AIDS in 2003 nor prevented the infection of 5 million people last year, said Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund Thoraya Ahmed Obaqid.

    Speaking at Wednesday's plenary session of the 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, she said that to make prevention work, it is essential to make everyone know how to avoid infection and has the means to do so.

    Condom use is the most effective way to prevent HIV infection. The UN official said that it is time for leaders and policymakers to stop arguing about the merits of condoms versus abstinence, because both are option for young people in different settings.

    Now there is a wide supply-demand gap in condoms. It is estimated that 12 billion are needed each year and donors provide only enough for about 2.5 billion. She called on all leaders to close the gap and increase funding for the commodities.

    She urged for increased access to female controlled methods of prevention, such as female condoms that are an effective tool of protection from the disease.

    "We should promote them, subsidize them and distribute them more widely. It is a matter of expanding choices and saving lives," she said.

    The UN official thought that education, condoms, linking HIV/AIDS and reproductive health are critical for prevention, but theyare not enough.

    "To make prevention work, especially for women and girls, we must promote and protect their human rights. We must work within cultures to challenge the social norms that contribute to the lower status of women and girls," she stressed.

    She urged for stopping violence against women and girls and called leaders at all levels to carry the message of zero tolerance of violence against women and girls forward.

    "We must socially and economically empower women and girls, build on their strengths, and support and promote their equality and human rights," She said. Enditem