VIENNA, Nov. 30, (Xinhua) -- In run up to World AIDS Day on December 1st, Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger Monday called on everyone to make a contribution to its control through education and awareness.

    "World AIDS Day is a day of global solidarity with people living with HIV, AIDS sufferers and their supporters," he said in a press release.

    According to Spindelegger, the prerequisite for the successful fight against HIV / AIDS is the respect to human rights.

    "The protection of the infected against discrimination, dignity and self-determination, as well as the equal access to health care and life-saving prevention programs need to be worldwide guaranteed," he said.

    The minister also noted that, this year's World AIDS Day was also the starting point of the preparations for the World AIDS Conference held in late July 2010 in Vienna.

    It is the world's most important congress on HIV/AIDS, with nearly 25,000 participants and 2,500 media representatives expected to attend.

    From 1983 to Oct. 30, 2009, the total number of AIDS sufferers is 2,749 in Austria and 1,502 of them died. There are currently 1,247 AIDS patients and about 12,000-15,000 HIV infected, said "AIDS-Statistics."

    According to the World AIDS report of the United Nations, so far, about 60 million people have been infected with HIV. 25 million people died since the outbreak of the epidemic of AIDS.