Voice of America - July 6, 2004
Tom Rivers
London

According to a report issued by the United Nations Tuesday, a quarter of all new HIV infections worldwide last year were in Asia. The world body's AIDS organization says if the spread of the disease is not checked, the region will face the same severe problems that sub-Saharan Africa has already experienced. Tom Rivers reports from London, one of the cities where the U.N. report was launched.

Peter Piot

The UNAIDS program reports that in the last year alone, 1.1 million people in Asia became infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The executive director of the organization, Peter Piot, says the signs are that if adequate prevention programs are not mounted soon, the epidemic will expand in Asia at an alarming rate.

"Across Asia with the exception of Thailand and of Cambodia, leadership of AIDS is absolutely weak or it is emerging, like in China, it is starting," he said. "But in general it is weak or totally absent. And without such strong leadership, there is no way that we can contain this epidemic."

Like elsewhere, AIDS has a stigma attached to it in China, but Mr. Piot says from the prime minister on down, the government has started to send the message that openness on the issue is imperative and that things like concealing infection rate figures will not be tolerated.

"At the central level, I think that there is strong commitment and there is growing leadership. At the provincial level - China is a big country as we all know - provincial level, at the local level, there is still a lot of inaction, non-recognition and also a lot of discrimination," he said.

On a positive note, the UNAIDS chief says Asia can look to Thailand as a model where an effective education program has brought down the infection numbers. He says that in 1991, around 140,000 people became infected with HIV in Thailand. Last year's new infection rate stood at just 21,000.

UNAIDS says Thailand achieved the decrease through a massive campaign promoting of the use of condoms, and by encouraging men to reduce the number of their sexual partners and to avoid prostitutes.

040706
VA040704

Copyright © 2004 - Voice of America. You are welcome to use any material that is published by voanews.com, or you may link to any of the web pages that Voice of America has published on the internet. There is no need to request further permission. Should you wish to establish a link to any VOA web pages, please send your request to pubaff@ibb.gov. We would appreciate that credit for any use of VOA material be given to voanews.com, Voice of America, or VOA, and we ask that you not abridge or edit any VOA material which you may use.

AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Bridgestone Firestone Trust Fund, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2004. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .