The Obama administration has introduced a new strategy to combat what it calls a "growing epidemic" of HIV/AIDS in the United States, aiming to reduce new infections by 25 per cent within five years.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius presents the national HIV/AIDS strategy at the White House on Tuesday. (Charles Dharapak/Associated Press)

The strategy also sets goals of getting treatment for 85 per cent of patients within three months of their diagnosis, and increasing education about the virus, even in communities with low rates of infection.

"Fighting HIV/AIDS in America and around the world will require more than just fighting the virus," President Barack Obama said at a White House reception honouring the work of those in the HIV and AIDS community. "It will require a broader effort to make life more just and equitable."

"The question is not whether we know what to do but whether we will do it," Obama said.

About 56,000 people in the United States become infected each year, and more than 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tens of thousands of HIV-positive people are not receiving any care to prolong their lives and reduce the spread of the virus, the report said.

"We can't afford complacency — not when in the 10 minutes I've been talking to you, another American has just contracted HIV," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in unveiling the strategy.

The number of people with HIV/AIDS continues to rise in Canada, from an estimated 57,000 in 2005 to 65,000 in 2008, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. The agency attributes the increase to new treatments that have improved survival, as well as to new infections.

This year's International AIDS Conference starts next Sunday in Vienna.

With files from The Associated Press