Thirty years after the first reported case of human infection with the HIV virus, the profile of HIV/AIDS is undergoing a transformation from a life-threatening emergency to a manageable chronic disease. New strategies and initiatives have ensured that fewer people are getting infected with the virus, and more infected people are getting treatment and living longer. On World AIDS Day 2011, WHO urges countries in South-East Asia to focus on eliminating the disease, particularly in children, by 2015.