HIV/AIDS- "Need for Urgent Attention" in Asia and Pacific

Bangkok (United Nations Information Services) -- HIV/AIDS is rapidly reaching epidemic proportions in parts of Asia and the Pacific, according to a theme study to be presented to government ministers at the 58th Commission Session of UN ESCAP.

The annual Commission Session will convene at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, from the 16 - 22 May.

While some countries in South-East Asia have been facing an epidemic for some time, other countries in South Asia and East Asia are experiencing a dramatic increase in the number of persons living with HIV/AIDS.

"Until recently, only Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand had documented significant nationwide epidemics," the study says. "However, globally, India is second only to South Africa in the number of people living with HIV/AIDS". It's believed 3.5 million Indians are infected with the disease.

In total, there are 7 million people living with HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific.

The UN ESCAP region is home to 60 per cent of the world's population and, at the present rate of new infections, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS here could reach monumental proportions.

Unless prevention programs are stepped up, China could have as many as 10 million people living with HIV/AIDS by 2010. "China's Ministry of Health data indicate that HIV infections rose by 67.4 per cent in the first six months of 2001, compared with the previous year," the study says.

More than two per cent of Thailand's adult population (740,000 people) is living with HIV/AIDS. In Cambodia, more than four per cent of the adult population is infected.

The main modes of transmission in the region are through heterosexual sex and intravenous drug use. People under the age of 24 are the most vulnerable, accounting for more than 50 per cent of all new infections.

The study finds that HIV/AIDS prevention programmes are poorly funded and resourced. "Small-scale projects tend to be scattered," it says. "There is a need for governments, civil society groups and the private sector to focus urgent attention to building political commitment and partnerships in the region to combat HIV/AIDS."

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