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AIDS: Asia's Lull Before the Storm?
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STILL A KID: This six-year-old boy in Chiang Mai, Thailand, is living with HIV.
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Asia stands on the brink of a full-blown HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The disease is well-established in Asia and the Pacific, and the fact that it has not yet reached epidemic proportions may be more due to luck than good management.The People’s Republic of China and India account for most of Asia's HIV/AIDS cases, but that is because of their large populations. Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand are wrestling with entrenched epidemics.
The danger is that, since earlier forecasts of the infection's explosive growth have not yet materialized, many countries still do not regard HIV/AIDS as a priority problem. Many are choosing to avoid policies that confront sensitive social, cultural, and moral issues.
Thus, despite the serious consequences of an epidemic, Asia has yet to move in ways to prevail over this challenge.
Yet many Asian countries are potential incubators for a rampant spread of the infection because they have the following conditions:
If urgent preventive measures are not taken, large-scale transmission of HIV/AIDS will ravage the labor force, strain social services, overextend resources, decimate human capital, and drastically constrict development options.
Cambodia, for example, has an estimated 170,000 people infected with HIV, whereas the number of available hospital beds is less than 8,000. Care and treatment of all the infected would overwhelm the country's health system. Few public health risks in history have been as capable of causing such socioeconomic disruption as an HIV/AIDS epidemic.
HIV/AIDS and poverty are inextricably linked. The infection pushes already poor individuals and households deeper into poverty. Poverty also exacerbates AIDS because the poor are more vulnerable to being drawn into high-risk behavior such as sex work and drug use by injection. They are also less likely to use condoms and seek prompt treatment for infections.
The challenge calls for a vigorous response led by governments and communities, and external aid agencies need to step up their efforts. For its part, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is preparing a project to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS at the country and regional levels in the Greater Mekong Subregion.
ADB is stepping up its assistance, particularly in the countries that border the Mekong River, such as Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Thailand, and Viet Nam. Studies have identified the most vulnerable groups as well as high-risk areas. A US$600,000 technical assistance project to strengthen Cambodia's National AIDS Agency is under way.
Another grant to support participation of government officials in the Sixth International Congress on AIDS in Asia - scheduled for October 2001 in Melbourne, Australia - has been approved. A US$8 million regional project, expected to be approved in May, will help Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam prevent HIV transmission.
This project will promote behavior changes, distribute condoms, and support treatment of sexually transmitted infections for mobile populations, including truck drivers, construction workers, seafarers, and hospitality industry workers.ADB is also prepared to support other regional activities and country-specific responses for HIV/AIDS. Early appropriate action could well prevent an epidemic. The alternative could be catastrophic.
______________________________Read the ADB Review article - "Choosing Life"
Read the news article - ADB Supports HIV/AIDS Prevention Activities
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