Urgent Action Now Could Stem AIDS Epidemic, ADB Vice-President Says
MANILA, PHILIPPINES - With AIDS continuing to spread in the Asia and Pacific region, a window of opportunity exists to stop the epidemic that requires strong leadership and commitment of all stakeholders, an ADB Vice-President told a meeting today. Speaking at ADB's commemoration of World AIDS Day 2006 at its Manila Headquarters, Vice-President Ursula Schaefer-Preuss said the need for renewed efforts against the disease was urgent. "The scenarios pictured for this region are telling us to act now if we want to change the course of the epidemic," Ms. Schaefer-Preuss told the audience. "We cannot afford to stand watching from a distance, putting at risk the next generations due to our inaction." She pointed out that in 2006, the epidemic has continued to grow in the region, since latest estimates at the end of 2005 that put the number of people in Asia and the Pacific living with HIV at 8.3 million. China, Indonesia and Viet Nam have all seen large increases, although the epidemic is spreading elsewhere in the region. There are also worrying signs that the disease - which has largely been concentrated in high risk groups such as injecting drug users, commercial sex workers, and men who have sex with men – is spreading more rapidly to the rest of the population. "Understanding the drivers of the epidemic, such as inequality between men and women, is absolutely fundamental to a successful long-term response to AIDS," said the Vice-President, responsible for ADB's knowledge management and sustainable development activities. Ms. Schaefer-Preuss said that there is strong evidence linking the spread of HIV to new roads and construction sites. Given that infrastructure projects play a major role in ADB's lending programs, it must therefore ensure that none of its funded activities contribute to the epidemic. "The planning, implementation, and monitoring in particular of infrastructure projects and programs need to consider the HIV/AIDS risks," she said. At the World AIDS Conference in Toronto earlier this year, ADB signed a joint initiative for mitigating the spread of HIV/AIDS in infrastructure projects. "ADB will be judged on how well it keeps this commitment, and also on how well we implement the programs provided in our HIV/AIDS strategy, including leadership support; capacity building; and targeted programs addressing the needs of the poor, the vulnerable, and high risks groups," she said. Reaching out to communities and families through nongovernment organizations has proven an effective response, she added. ADB is in the process of selecting various NGO projects for support in the region that will become operational in early 2007. Read the full speech. About ADB | 
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