Asia haunted by spread of HIV/AIDS

Asia haunted by spread of HIV/AIDS

Harmonie Toros, Associated Press, United Nations

Asia's highly populated countries, including China, India and
Indonesia, face one of the greatest challenges -- and risks -- in
the global battle against HIV/AIDS, according to the United
Nations AIDS agency.

With such large populations -- China and India account for one
third of the world's people and Indonesia is the world's fourth
most populated nation -- even extremely low rates of infection
can be devastating, a new UNAIDS report released on Tuesday said.

"These countries have an incredible opportunity to avert major
epidemics, also because they have a strong tradition in the
mobilization of public opinion, mass campaigns and so on," said
UNAIDS head Dr. Peter Piot in an interview with The Associated
Press ahead of the annual report's release.

Last week, UNAIDS published a separate report on HIV/AIDS in
China, warning that if no effort is made to step up prevention
and education, the number of HIV-infected people in China could
jump from up to 1.5 million estimated today to 10 million by
2010.

That would put China "on the verge of a catastrophe that could
result in unimaginable suffering, economic loss and social
devastation," last week's report said.

The Chinese government rejected the report, calling its
conclusions and predictions inaccurate.

Piot said that the report had not criticized the Chinese
government, where he saw "real commitment," but lamented the lack
of action on the provincial level, where much of the funding and
decision-making are.

The latest UNAIDS report said China registered a rise of more
than 67 percent in reported HIV infections in the first six
months of 2001. Many have become infected through unsafe blood-
donation procedures.

Piot said that even if only 1 percent of China's population
were to become infected that would translate into 13 million
people -- more than in any of the most affected countries in
Africa.

"It doesn't have to reach enormous infection rates in these
countries, before we talk about tens and tens of millions more
infected," Piot said.

The latest UNAIDS report said India was home to almost four
million infected people -- more than any other country in the
world except South Africa.

In Indonesia, negligible HIV prevalence has given way to rapid
increases among drug users and prostitutes, with up to 40 percent
of patients at a Jakarta drug treatment center infected, the
report said.

The report underlined that comprehensive HIV/AIDS programs had
shown results.

In Cambodia, HIV prevalence fell from more than 4 percent at
the end of 1999 to 2.7 percent at the end of 2001, while in
Thailand the number of new infections fell from 143,000 in 1991
to 29,000 in 2001.