Despite a stepped-up global battle against AIDS, the number of people newly infected with HIV is far and away outpacing the number beginning antiretroviral drug treatments, UN officials said Monday.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, opening several days of UN debate on AIDS prevention, told world leaders that 2.5 million people became infected with HIV last year compared with one million who started using important antiretroviral drugs.

"Unless greater and swifter advances are made in reaching those who need essential services, the epidemic's burden on households, communities and societies will continue to mount," Ban said.

Some 2.1 million people died of AIDS last year and at least 33 million people worldwide are infected with HIV, according to UN figures.

In addition, people with weakened immune systems from HIV are up to 50 times more likely to develop tuberculosis, UN officials say.

"We cannot separate the fight against HIV/AIDS from the fight against TB," said General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim, who will preside over a two-day meeting on AIDS starting Tuesday in New York.

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton pointed out the ramifications that rising oil prices have on battling the disease.

"This oil price spike has taken away 100 per cent of the value of foreign aid and debt relief to very many countries," he told the UN. "It has dramatically increased the cost of producing food, and it has increased therefore the number of people who are at risk of these diseases."

Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, said two million people were getting antiretroviral drugs in Africa.

Antiretroviral drugs have made HIV a manageable illness for many patients and prolonged their lives beyond what once seemed possible.

The UN-backed Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria announced Monday it helped 1.75 million people get antiretroviral treatment — a 59-per-cent increase over last year.

But slightly more than two-thirds of people with HIV globally are not getting any such treatment, according to UN figures.