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Asian HIV infection rate sparks warningBangkok, Thailand: The battle against AIDS is at a critical stage in Asia as sharp rise in infections driven by the sex industry has left more than eight million people living with HIV, the UN reported. The number of Asians with the virus iumped by one million over the past two years, bringing the total number of infected people in the region to 8.2 million, according to an annual report by UNAIDS and the WHO. Some 5.1 million of those infected live in India- the highest number in the world for any country excapt South Africa. Among the worst affected are women in East Asia, who are contracting the virus at a faster rate than in the rest of the world. In many cases this is because men who have visited prostitutes are increasingly passing on the infection to their wives. About 2.3 million of the 8.2 million living with HIV in Asia are women- an increase of 56 per cent since 2002. Growing drug injaction is also contributing to the spread of the disease. Win-Site Cheng, regional advisor on HIV/AIDS for UNICEF, told a news conference in Bangkok that transmission from husbands to wives is the predominant pattern in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and some parts of China. ?Most women around the world are HIV-infected through their partners? high-risk behavior, over which they wield little or (no) control.? She said. In Thailand, about 90 per cent of HIV transmissions 12 years ago were between prostitutes and their clients. But now, about half of all infections are occurring in the wives of men who visit prostitutes. AIDS has now been detected in all parts of the mainland, and public health programs are making little headway. The report cited a 2003 survey which revealed one in five Chinese could not name a single way to protect themselves against the virus. In Indonesia, which has the world?s fourth largest population, the spread of HIV is largely confined to prisoners, drug users and commercial sex workers. Programs in Thailand and Cambodia to promote the use of condoms in areas associated with prostitution have reduced the percentage of sex workers with HIV. Despite the grim news, the report said many Asian nations could still avert potential epidemics and urged them not to waste a golden opportunity. It said Bangladesh, East Timor, Laos, Pakisatan and the Philippines all had very low HIV prevalence rates and could stave off potential epidemics if they adopted effective prevention programs. Thailand was widely praised in the 1990s for its unflinching response to the AIDS epidemic, including promoting the use of condoms that helps reduce new annual infections fro 143,000 in 1991, to 19,000 last year. The UN estimated that 3.1 million pople will have died world-wide from AIDS this year- more than 540,000 of them in Asia. Source: Agence France-Presse, South China Morning Post, Nov. 24, 2004 posted by Prawate on Thursday, November 25, 2004 WORLD AIDS SUNDAY"Women and HIV/AIDS:
The World Health Organization declared the first World AIDS Day in 1988. The day, 1 December, quickly became established as one of the world's most successful commemorative days and is now recognized and celebrated by a diverse range of constituents every year around the globe.
A small resource pack has been produced produced by the Christian Conference of Asia, the Hong Kong Christian Council and the St. John's Cathedral HIV Education Centre. Please click here to download the resources pack.
posted by cbs on Thursday, November 18, 2004 |
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