WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says it's possible to virtually eliminate HIV-infected births and the U.S. is donating $80 million in new funding to help poor countries reach that goal.

Treating HIV-infected women so that they protect their babies is a key part of the Obama administration's goal of an AIDS-free generation.

Clinton told the International AIDS Conference Monday that the new money will help get those life-saving drugs to women who now slip through the cracks.

Clinton also says the U.S. is investing millions more to study what works best to protect the highest-risk population in hard hit countries— gay and bisexual men, sex workers and injecting drug users.

Her message: "If we're going to beat AIDS, we can't afford to avoid sensitive conversations."

Earlier, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading U.S. AIDS researcher, told the conference that science has provided the tools needed to slash new infections even without a vaccine — if countries will put them in place.

Fauci said it won't be easy or happen overnight. In his words, "no promises, no dates but we know it can happen."

Fauci said "we want to get to the end of AIDS" but that "a lot of people, a lot of countries, a lot of regions have a lot to do."

Topping that list of tools is better treatment of people who already have HIV, so they're less likely to spread the virus. But Fauci also called male circumcision a "stunningly successful" step, pointing to part of Uganda that's stressing that step.

Researchers, doctors and patients attending the conference are urging the world's governments not to cut back on the fight against the epidemic when it is at a turning point.

There is no cure or vaccine yet, but scientists say they have the tools to finally stem the spread of this intractable virus — largely by using treatment not just to save patients but to make them less infectious, too.

"Future generations are counting on our courage to think big, be bold and seize the opportunity before us," said Dr. Diane Havlir of the University of California, San Francisco, a co-chair of the International AIDS Conference. Continued...