Asia Urged to Remain Vigilant in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS

In South and South East Asia the rate of HIV infections has fallen by more than ten per cent since 2001 with the gains attributed to a ten fold increase in the availability of medicines for treatment. But AIDS related infection has still claimed the lives of some 25 million people worldwide. In 2008 alone, some two million people perished due to the disease.

In the Asia Pacific some 4.7 million people are living with AIDS. There were some 350,000 new infections last year.

Dr Prasada Rao, director of UNAIDS in Asia and the Pacific, said despite the progress it was important communities remained vigilant.

“The fight must definitely go on but there are encouraging signs around the world especially in the Asia Pacific region with regard to prevention because we are seeing the number of new infections coming down,” he said.

Working more closely with vulnerable groups

In China, the United Nations has warned that some 50 million people are at risk from the disease. UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibe called on the Chinese government to do more to reach out to civil society as well as work more closely with vulnerable groups such as men who have sex with men.

UNAIDS, in its latest report, also warned communities against complacency even as signs were evident of a sharp slowing in the rate of new infections.

In Indonesia’s Papua province – one of the hardest hit by the AIDS pandemic – the Indonesian government has been promoting life-skills education programs to support communities to manage the virus.

Dr Rao said mortality rates in the Asia and Pacific were still increasing with many people dying due to a failure to have adequate access to treatment especially among vulnerable communities that often faced social stigmatisation.

"The treatment programmes in Asian countries are not being scaled up to the level that they need to be except in a few countries like Thailand and Cambodia where there is almost 80 to 90 per cent coverage. But countries like China and India and Myanmar-they are still to reach that level of coverage."

Infections among women and children

In China treatment coverage remained at about 30 per cent while in India it was about 50 per cent and in Myanmar the level was 35 per cent. But women and children remain most vulnerable to the virus. In Cambodia, over 40 per cent of new infections were among married women with over a third of all new infections from mother to child.

Children living with HIV are seen as vulnerable to malnutrition, psychological suffering, depression, and abuse. Almost 20 per cent of the world’s annual death toll from AIDS is among children But Dr. Rao says the prevention of mother to child HIV transmission remains low in the region with an average of just 30 per cent. He says the target should be to eliminate mother to child transmission by 2015 – This kind of transmission is easy to prevent.

Long way to go

Some hope has been raised with recent reports pointing to progress towards a vaccine against AIDS following scientific tests carried out in Thailand. But Dr Rao says there is still some way to go before the vaccine reaches the general community.

He also called on region's governments to maintain a political commitment in the fight against AIDS especially through steps that would decriminalize areas such as prostitution, same sex relationships, and intravenous drug use. This, he said, was vital if the battle against AIDS in Asia was to be won.

Author:Ron Corben
Editor: Grahame Lucas