The 2012 International AIDS Conference, which will take place in Washington, D.C., from July 22-27, “will highlight a sense of optimism among top HIV researchers about stemming the spread of the virus around the globe,” according to PRI’s “The World.” In an audio report, anchor Lisa Mullins “talks to Peter Piot, former executive director of UNAIDS, about the new optimism and his career as a virus hunter.”

“There’s no doubt that we’ve made enormous progress in the fight against AIDS,” Piot says in the report, and discusses some of these advancements. “But AIDS is not over by any means, and we should be realistic and think that we are in this for the long haul, for several decades,” he adds, noting, “We still have well over 30 million people living with HIV somewhere in the world, and all of them, for decades, will need treatment,” according to PRI (7/9).