United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says the world is finally in a position to eradicate AIDS, but says funding will be critical to future progress in fighting the epidemic.

In a statement to commemorate World AIDS Day on Thursday, Mr. Ban urged international donors to meet the estimated $24 billion needed annually to fully fund global AIDS initiatives.

Many observers worry that global AIDS efforts may face serious cut backs as governments in Europe and the U.S. try to make up for large budget deficits.

Kumar Chandiramani of the medical charity group Doctors Without Borders says his organization is worried about a potential lack of funding.

A U.N. report released Wednesday said domestic and international funding for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, decreased from $15.9 billion in 2009 to $15 billion in 2010, well below the threshold it says is needed for a comprehensive, global response.

The report found the number of new HIV infections has dropped by 15 percent in the past decade. But it also found that new infections increased by 250 percent in the past decade in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The U.N. estimates that 34 million people around the world are living with HIV.

World AIDS day was first observed in 1988 as a way to increase awareness of the disease and support those affected by it.

This year's theme, which runs until 2015, is “Getting to Zero,” which focuses on eliminating new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths, as well as descrimination against people with the disease.