AIDS around world - Asia and the Pacific

The diversity of the AIDS epidemic is even greater in Asia than in Africa. The epidemic here appears to be of more recent origin, and many Asian countries lack accurate systems for monitoring the spread of HIV. Half of the world's population lives in Asia, so even small differences in the absolute numbers of people infected, can make huge differences in the infection rates.

Around 1.2 million people in Asia and the Pacific acquired HIV in 2004, bringing the number of people living with HIV to an estimated 8.2 million. A further 540,000 people are estimated to have died of AIDS in 2004.

A camel in Jodhpur, India wearing a banner that says "protect yourself from AIDS"

National adult prevalence is still under 1% in the majority of this region's countries. That figure, though, can be misleading. Several countries in the region are so large and populous that the attention is only drawn to major urban areas, which may obscure serious epidemics in some smaller provinces and states. Although national adult HIV prevalence in India, for example, is below 1%, five states have an estimated prevalence of over 1% among adults.

In most Asian countries the epidemic is centred among particular high-risk groups – men who have sex with men, injecting drug users, sex workers and their partners. The epidemic has already spread beyond these groups, however, into the general population. Some Asian countries, such as Thailand, have responded rapidly to the epidemic with extensive campaigns to educate the public and prevent the spread of HIV – and have appeared to show some success. Other very populous regions, such as China, have only recently admitted that the spread of HIV threatens their populations, and as a result, their prevention work s lagging behind the spread of the virus. Unless rapid and effective action is taken in this part of the world, then the size of the epidemic to come will dwarf the many deaths that have already occurred.

However, the epidemic in Asia has ample room for growth. The sex trade and the use of illicit drugs are extensive, and so are migration and mobility within and across borders. The fluidity in international markets and especially the lack of economic stability in Asia has erupted into non-stop movement within countries and among countries, mirrored in the growing prevalence of HIV. India, China, Thailand and Cambodia, to name only a few, have highly mobile populations within their borders, with people moving from state to state and from rural to urban areas. In China, permanent and temporary migrants may total as many as 120 million people.