US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders aims to eradicate the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the country within the next decade if elected president.

"Bernie will set a national goal of ending the HIV epidemic in the United States by the year 2025 so that HIV is no longer a public health threat to any community in the [country], and that people with HIV are able to live long, healthy lives," the candidate’s campaign said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Vermont Senator plans to designate people who have HIV, as well as health experts and government officials to an HIV/AIDS task force to develop the program to achieve his stated goal of ending the disease.

As part of his plan, the campaign stated that Sanders would set up a multi-billion dollar prize fund to incentivize drug development, provide greater access to lower-cost medications to treat HIV and AIDS, increase public information and ensure schools give "students age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education."

This is while Sanders has cancelled a meeting with HIV advocates due on Thursday, while Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is scheduled to meet with some of the group members that day.

The advocates are hoping to secure commitments by each presidential candidate to end the HIV epidemic by 2025 and to provide billions of dollars in additional funding as part of a government-backed program to find a cure for the disease.