Barcelona, Spain ? Former President Bill Clinton embraced former South African President Nelson Mandela to wild cheers at the world AIDS conference Friday and declared that the battle against AIDS must be won.

“One hundred million AIDS cases means more terror, more mercenaries, more war, destruction, and the failure of fragile democracies,” Clinton said at the close of the 14th International AIDS Conference, the largest held since the meetings began in 1985.

Nelson Mandela, left, former South African president, is embraced by former U.S. President Bill Clinton at the closing ceremony of the International AIDS conference Friday in Barcelona.

The former presidents told 15,000 scientists, care workers and activists that determination and billions of dollars for prevention and treatment were needed to halt the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

“AIDS is a war against humanity,” said Mandela, who walked onstage supported by a cane and warmly embraced Clinton.

Mandela said AIDS was claiming more victims “than all wars and natural disasters” and cited the United Nations’ warning that 70 million people could die in the next 20 years “unless drastic action is taken.”

He called for access to HIV-fighting drugs “for all those that need it, wherever they may be in the world, regardless of whether they can afford it.”

South Africa has the world’s largest population infected with the virus 4.7 million people.

Clinton said he and Mandela were launching a World Leaders AIDS Action Network to “raise the global commitment to end AIDS.”

“I will do all I can in the United States and around the world to get more money, more action,” he said.

He also held up a photo of a 4-year-old Nigerian girl born healthy because her infected parents took drugs that prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission.

Clinton called on Washington to “figure out what our share is” of the yearly $10 billion that the United Nations says is needed to finance global AIDS programs. Current spending stands at about $2.8 billion.

He said America should increase its spending on AIDS by nearly $2 billion, which would amount to “less than two months of the Afghan war, less than 3 percent of the requested increase of defense and homeland security budgets.”

After Clinton made his remarks, the U.S. Senate passed a bill authorizing almost $5 billion in spending over two years to prevent and treat the international AIDS epidemic.

The bill also would require the United States to develop a five-year plan to significantly reduce the spread of AIDS around the world. It now goes back to the House for approval of minor Senate changes.