United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Tuesday warned Aids infections were still outpacing gains from treating HIV-positive people.

He used World Aids Day 2009 to urge all countries to remove laws hampering the response to Aids, including travel restrictions against HIV-positive people.

There were signs of progress in reversing the Aids epidemic but Ban said more must be done urgently to reach the UN goal of providing universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010.

This entails battling stigma and discrimination, eliminating violence against women and ensuring access to HIV information and services.

Discriminating against groups most at risk, like sex workers, intravenous drug users and homosexual men, only fuels the epidemic said Ban.