One person dying of AIDS every minute in Asia: WHO
Drug plan in spotlight on World AIDS Day
AFP, Reuters, Manila
AIDS now kills a person every minute in the Asia-Pacific, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said yesterday, warning HIV prevalence is increasing in China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam. The Manila-based WHO regional office for the Western Pacific said in a statement in conjunction with World AIDS Day that more than half a million people in the Asia-Pacific died of the disease in 2003. "That is one death from AIDS every minute," it said, warning that "without major investments in prevention and care, similar annual death tolls can be expected until the end of the decade." New WHO studies showed that more than seven million people were living with HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, out of the global total of 40 million. India had the highest number of people in Asia living with HIV/AIDS -- an estimated 3.8 million to 4.6 million people. According to the new report published by the WHO, "HIV prevalence is increasing in several countries, including China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam," the statement said. It added that China accounts for about 840,000 HIV infections, with "alarming rates of infection among some populations," including in Xinjiang province where 80 percent of injecting drug users are infected. In Indonesia and Nepal, there has been a "sudden emergence" of HIV among injecting drug users, the WHO said. "The growing number of AIDS cases in many countries of Asia and the Pacific makes clear the urgent need for HIV/AIDS care and treatment," the statement said. Reuters adds: Ambitious plans to rush life-saving AIDS drugs to millions will be unveiled on Monday as experts warn that the worst is yet to come from a disease that has so far defeated all efforts to check its advance. Marches, candlelight vigils and exhibitions marking World AIDS Day will serve reminders that deaths from the illness and new cases of HIV/AIDS reached new highs in 2003 and are set to rise further as the epidemic keeps a grip on Africa and scythes across eastern Europe and Central Asia. A Cape Town concert, headlined by Beyonce Knowles and U2's Bono and broadcast across the Internet, helped launched the campaign to raise awareness of the threat on Saturday. African statesman Nelson Mandela urged world governments to act now.
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