New guidelines from the World Health Organisation could save millions of lives with a simple change in treatment.

Doctors could reduce AIDS deaths by three million in 2025 if they administer medication slightly sooner after diagnosis, the World Health Organisation has found in a report.

New guidelines aimed at controlling and reducing the global AIDS epidemic say many poorer countries wait until the last possible time to begin AIDS treatments, due to the drugs being extremely expensive, but the WHO says this is likely a waste of the treatment as infections are often too far progressed.

Better access to cheap generic drugs has seen help for more people than ever, but with many major pharmaceutical companies still charging massive fees for life-saving treatments, AIDS care can be a heavy burden on poor countries.

World Health director general Margaret Chan says the dramatic improvement in access to HIV treatment raised the prospect of the world one day being able to beat the disease.

"With nearly 10 million people now on antiretroviral therapy, we see that such prospects - unthinkable just a few years ago - can now fuel the momentum needed to push the HIV epidemic into irreversible decline," she said.

New World Health Organisation guidelines for HIV treatment are available online.