"These findings point to an urgent need to find, prevent and treat tuberculosis in people living with HIV and to test for HIV in all patients in order to provide prevention, treatment and care," said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, urging countries to step up cooperation to combat both diseases.

There has been a steep climb in testing for HIV among people being treated for TB, especially in Africa, the report says. In 2004, only 4 percent of TB patients in the region were tested for HIV, but that has surged to 37 percent in 2007.

"We have to stop people living with HIV from dying of tuberculosis," said Michel Sidibe, who heads the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), underscoring the need for universal access to HIV prevention and treatment to include TB prevention, diagnosis and care.

"When HIV and TB services are combined, they save lives," the UNAIDS chief said.

Ban in his Tuesday remarks also welcomed the commitments made by governments, multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), foundations, the private sector, academia and researchers to halt and reverse the spread of the disease and press ahead with efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

"In this time of economic crisis, we must protect investments in global health, particularly to protect the most vulnerable," he said, calling for partnership and innovation to "prevent disease, save lives and enable communities to thrive."

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Editor:Yang Jie