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HIV/AIDS epidemic in Asia may become the largest in the world
07 October 2002. UNAIDS Press Release. (www.unaids.org)
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Outside sub-Saharan Africa, Asia has more people living with HIV/AIDS than any region on earth, warned the head of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS today.
"The epidemic in Asia threatens to become the largest in the world," said Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS. "With more than half the world's population, the region must treat AIDS as an issue of regional urgency. The question is no longer whether Asia will have a major epidemic, but rather how massive it will be."
"HIV/AIDS has already spread to more than six million people across Asia," Dr Piot said. "By not tackling it now while it is still manageable, the epidemic will have far-reaching effects, destabilizing societies and damaging productivity." Dr Piot was speaking at the World Economic Forum's (WEF) East Asia Economic Summit, which he Co-Chairs - one of the first times someone from outside the business sector has been invited to chair the summit.
Keeping HIV/AIDS from reaching massive proportions is a major challenge for Asia, Dr Piot warned, adding that early action would not only save lives, but money.
"Experience has shown us that valuable time is lost when interventions are delayed," he said. "As soon as the epidemic spreads beyond localised areas and particular population groups, the costs of both prevention and care begin to escalate rapidly.
" Business can play a key role in stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS, according to UNAIDS. They can protect employees from HIV/AIDS through workplace education, the development of non-discriminatory policies, and the provision of care for infected workers in countries where health infrastructure is lacking.
"It is a question of good economic sense," Dr Piot said. "By protecting their employees from HIV and caring for those who are infected, businesses minimize the loss of skilled workers and managers, and boost their long-term productivity."
"Governments cannot go it alone, and businesses can play a pivotal role in the response in Asia. Taking action on HIV/AIDS goes beyond a matter of corporate responsibility - it is about making a good investment now to save paying vast costs later," he added.
A document package released at the Summit outlines examples and options for businesses committed to working on HIV/AIDS and shows that providing treatment and care to employees is often cheaper than the overall cost of HIV/AIDS to businesses.
Key to supporting workers is protecting them from discrimination, Dr Piot said. Protecting rights is essential to fighting the fear and denial that surround HIV/AIDS.
Despite high incidence, there are signs of success. Cambodia, for example, has started to bring its epidemic under control. Yet in most cases the epidemic continues to spread and HIV/AIDS in Asia is only beginning. Behind low national prevalence rates in several countries are serious localized epidemics.
China, with a fifth of the world's population, registered a more than 67% rise in reported HIV/AIDS infections in the first six months of 2001. HIV/AIDS epidemics are occurring among injecting drug users in at least seven provinces, with prevalence rates as high as 70% in this group.
Across Asia, an estimated 6.6 million people were living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2001, including the one million adults and children who were newly infected during the year. In China it is estimated that the total number of people infected with HIV/AIDS has already reached one million, while in India, an estimated 3.97 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. |
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