Asia-Pacific nations need more funds to fight HIV/AIDS, poverty,
Asia-Pacific nations need more funds to fight HIV/AIDS, poverty,
study shows
Teresa Cerojano
Associated Press/Manila
Goals to halve poverty in the Asia-Pacific region by 2015 will
not be achieved unless more funds are committed to fighting
HIV/AIDS, experts warned Monday.
About 7 million people were living with HIV/AIDS in the region
in 2001, of whom more than half a million died that year. But
that toll could rise to 750,000 by 2010, according to studies by
the Asian Development Bank and the Joint United Nations Program
on HIV/AIDS, or UNAIDS.
Economic losses in the region directly attributable to the
virus totaled US$7.3 billion in 2001, and could more than double
to US$17.5 billion (euro13.5 billion) without more money for
prevention measures and treatment, the studies found.
"HIV/AIDS is already taking a far greater toll in the Asia-
Pacific than is commonly realized, and the human, social and
economic losses caused by the epidemic will reverse hard-earned
gains in poverty reduction if governments and donors do not act
now," an ADB/UNAIDS statement said.
The studies showed that in 2003-15, an average of 5.6 million
people in Cambodia, India, Thailand and Vietnam will be
impoverished annually by HIV/AIDS. Poverty reduction will be
slowed by 60 percent yearly in Cambodia, 38 percent in Thailand
and 23 percent in India.
"You can safely say that the Millennium Development Goal of
reducing poverty in the region by half by the year 2015 cannot be
achieved unless HIV/AIDS is addressed," ADB Vice President Geert
Van Der Linden told a news conference.
The studies also showed that in 2003, countries in the region
required about US$1.5 billion (euro1.15 billion) to finance a
comprehensive response but only US$200 million (euro153.8) was
available in public and donor funds.
Because of the growing backlog of prevention, care and
treatment needs, regional resources needed will rise to US$5.1
billion (euro3.92 billion) by 2007, the studies showed.
The amount accounted for 4 percent of health expenditure and
gross national income for the region in 2001, ADB and UNAIDS
said.
If comprehensive prevention and care programs begin right
away, the number of people infected by 2010 can be kept to 4
million -- less than half the expected total otherwise --
reducing the likely number of annual deaths and financial losses
from the virus.
The ADB and UNAIDS have agreed to scale up their AIDS response
in Asia and the Pacific, with the ADB earmarking 2 percent or
US$140 million (euro107.7 billion) of the bank's US$7 billion
(euro5.38 billion) soft loans window to AIDS for the next four
years. Sweden has given the bank another US$15 million (euro11.5
million) for its AIDS program.
Dr. Peter Piot, UNAIDS executive director, said HIV/AIDS is
"one of the biggest challenges for humankind."
GetAP 1.00 -- FEB 21, 2005 17:40:35