Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Fides Service) - According to a Report issued by UNAIDS, in many countries of Asia AIDS is rapidly spreading.
Among the reasons for Asia’s 7.4 million HIV positive, scarce or total lack of information, although 20 years have passed since the first diagnosis.
Last year in Asia 1.1 million new cases were registered, an alarming number seeing that in Asia there lives 60% of the world’s population.
The epidemic is particularly serious in Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia with 3% of the population infected. In India, the second most infected country in the world with 5.1 million HIV positive, a survey showed that one fourth of the people had never heard of AIDS. In Bangladesh less than 20% of married women and less than 33% married had heard of the disease. Indonesia, with a population 210 million and widespread use of needles for drugs, provides an ideal ambient for widespread diffusion of the pandemic. Vietnam, with drug abuse and prostitution, presents the most disquieting situation although the rate of infection is less than 1%.
Although Sub-Saharan Africa is the world’s most affected region with 25 million cases, by 2007Asia will need 20 billion dollars to fund programmes of prevention and treatment, compared to the present 5 billion dollars.
Unless measures are taken by 2010 China could have 10 million HIV positive persons. The virus has spread to all the mainland provinces and in some areas the rate of prevalence due to drugs reaches 80%. (AP) (6/7/2004 Agenzia Fides; Righe:24; Parole:293)
