The global AIDS epidemic shows no signs of abating. Five million people became infected with HIV worldwide and 3 million died this year alone – the highest ever. The findings are featured in “AIDS Epidemic Update 2003,” a comprehensive new report on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic issued today by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in advance of World AIDS Day, commemorated on 1 December.