LONDON -- A U.N. report says new HIV infections hit a record high last year. The report also says the number of people living with the AIDS virus has risen in every region of the world.

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Dr. Peter Piot, U.N.'s AIDS chief, said the virus "is running faster than all of us."

"Despite increased funding, political commitment and progress in expanding access to HIV treatment over the past two years, the AIDS epidemic continues to outpace the global response," Piot said.

The UNAIDS report, which is compiled every two years, was released Tuesday in advance of an international AIDS conference to be held next week in Bangkok, Thailand.

Five million people became infected last year -- more than in any single year since the crisis began. And the number of people living with HIV rose in every region of the world. The total worldwide rose from 35 million in 2001 to 38 million in 2003.

Nine out of 10 patients who urgently need treatment are not getting it, and prevention efforts are still only reaching one in five people who should have them.

The report estimates $12 billion a year will be needed by next year to tackle the epidemic. That's more than was predicted earlier.

The report says the number of people with HIV has leveled off at about 25 million in sub-Saharan Africa. But in southern Africa, the pandemic continues to grow.

Still, the report found some encouraging signs. In Uganda, where there's an aggressive prevention program, the AIDS rate has dropped from 12 percent to 4 percent.

In the United States, HIV is continuing to spread, but fewer Americans are dying of AIDS.

The report says 950,000 people in the United States are living with HIV, up 50,000 from two years ago. But the number of deaths due to AIDS dropped to 16,300, compared to more than 19,000 back in 1998. The report credits anti-AIDS drug treatments for the lower death toll.

It also says HIV infection continues to grow in the black population at a rate 11 times higher than among whites.