TOKYO, Oct 2 (AFP) - The UN's top AIDS official warned Tuesday that Asia must wake up to the battle against the disease if it wants to avoid the fate of Africa.
"At the moment in Asia the perception is that it is particularly a problem for Africa but Asia is very vulnerable," said Peter Piot, the director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
"Actions taken today will determine the global shape of the epidemic in a decade," he said in a lecture at the United Nations University in Tokyo.
"We are not powerless to prevent the spread of HIV, epidemic is not inevitable," he said.
"The countries the most affected are Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia. Out of them, two have had quite impressive results, they have less infections than 10 years ago," Piot said.
Cambodia had witnessed "a modest decline in the number of infections" thanks to the adoption of measures following the "Thai model" based on strong campaigning and aggressive promotion of condom use.
According to Piot, the HIV-AIDS epidemic has reached alarming proportions in other countries in the region, including India.
"In India, we are close to five million infected people. On (a total population of) one billion, it could seem not so many but potential is there for a continuous spread," he warned.
"In Vietnam we have also a rise in infections and in China we saw some outbreaks. In South China it is linked to drug usage and in Henan province to trade in blood, even in rural communities," Piot said.
The UN official warned against complacency in the fight against HIV-AIDS.
"Even if in Asia, it has spread slower than in Africa, we are only at the beginning of an AIDS epidemic from an historic perspective," he said.
"There is a false sense of security in Asia. But there are also enormous opportunities; if measures are taken and prevention campaigns organised, greater disasters can be prevented."
Besides the devastating human toll of HIV-AIDS, the disease can also have a dramatic impact on economic growth, he warned.
"By the beginning of the next decade, South Africa, which represents 40 percent of Africa's economic output, will be facing an output 17 percent lower than it would be without AIDS," he said.
Piot was in Japan for talks about the progress in setting up a Global Health Fund proposed in July last year during a Group of Eight summit of rich nations to help finance AIDS programmes.
Pledges to the fund totalling 1.5 billion dollars have already been made from countries including Nigeria, Uganda and South Africa. The funds are due to be put in place by the end of the year, Piot said.
He said "1.5 billion dollars for something that does not exist is a lot. The real test will be after two years whether there will be a replenishment."
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