Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - November 25, 2003
"(The epidemic) is both a cause and consequence of poverty and human rights violations," said the report entitled "Time to Act," adding that unprotected sex, drug abuse and unsafe medical practices are also helping to spread the epidemic.
The report was released Tuesday by ActionAid-Asia - part of London-based development charity ActionAid - ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.
In Asia, 7.2 million people are now living with the virus, compared with 29 million infected people in Africa, according to the report.
"Asia may not be Africa, but the early warning signals are scary and clear. Africa's experience shows HIV/AIDS can destroy development gains of several decades and social composition of peoples in a single stroke," the report said.
In India and China alone, around 5 million people are living with HIV, and many experts say those figures are grossly underestimated.
The report warned that low prevalence rates in India and China - the world's two most populous countries - disguise hotspots and huge actual numbers of infections.
"At the same time grossly inadequate surveillance systems are compounding and encouraging complacency," it said.
Individual countries also face localized problems that encourage the virus's spread.
For example, in many parts of China, which has an estimated 1 million people with HIV/AIDS, the public health system is in chaos.
The country's inadequate health infrastructure and its a lack of trained doctors and social workers makes it potential breeding ground for drug-resistant "super-infections," the report says.
The United Nations and Chinese officials have said the country could have 10 million people with HIV within a decade if the epidemic isn't tackled aggressively.
In Afghanistan, official statistics show there are just 15 infections in a population of 22 million.
But the figures are "likely to vastly understate the problem in a country beset by conflict, massive movement of people, desperate poverty and a growing drug problem," said Philippa Sackett of ActionAid Afghanistan.
Meanwhile in India, human trafficking was spreading the disease. The report notes that up to 7,000 Nepali girls are smuggled into Indian brothels every year, and over 100,000 are currently employed as prostitutes in India's commercial capital, Bombay - a large number of them infected with HIV.
Unprotected sex among young Japanese is a major cause of new infections, the report said.
Although the prevalence rate in Japan remains well below 1%, with just 12,595 reportedly infected, experts fear the actual number is five times higher.
The report also slammed Asian governments for failing to protect the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS, who are subject to discrimination and stigmatization.
"Compassion and a humane response are necessary to deal with HIV/AIDS," said ActionAid-Asia's director, John Samuel. "But compassion cannot be a substitute for government action. Health care is not a matter of charity but a right."
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