The United Nations on Saturday warned South-East Asian leaders that HIV/AIDS is a long-term threat to development and security in the region, striking the most productive sections of the area's population.
In a report to the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders' Summit in Cebu province, 585 kilometres south of Manila, he Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) called for decisive action to curb the disease's spread, including mobilising huge financial resources for HIV prevention and treatment services.
With an estimated 1.6 million people living with HIV in the ASEAN region, UNAIDS told ASEAN leaders that AIDS has become "one of the make-or-break challenges of this century."
"AIDS is not a passing storm but a long-run threat to development and national security in Asia," the report said. "We are still in the early phases of this epidemic and must redouble and sustain our efforts, not let our guard down."
According to UNAIDS data, the ASEAN region has the highest national infection levels in Asia, with the epidemic fuelled by unprotected paid sex, sex between men and unsafe injected drug use.
ASEAN is made up of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar (Burma).
"The most worrying fact for the ASEAN countries is that AIDS affects the most productive sections of your populations, that is, the workforce which is the powerhouse of economic development in the region," the report said.
In 2006, there were an estimated 180,000 new infections among people of all ages in the ASEAN region, and 110,000 deaths due to AIDS. Thirty-three per cent of the total number of people living with HIV in the region are women over 15 years old.
In the report, UNAIDS urged ASEAN leaders to make "difficult and often unpopular decisions" to to put in place "a response that halts the epidemic not just for the short term but for the long-term future, so that there is no resurgence in the epidemic."
"The greatest headway against AIDS can be guaranteed by directing funding to HIV programmes for the most at-risk individuals and communities, including young people, sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men, and injecting drug users," the report said.
It stressed that HIV prevention and treatment services are essential, along with care and support. It also called on ASEAN governments to be responsive to women and encourage the youth in Asia "to become the first new HIV-free generations."
ASEAN leaders were also urged to personally support efforts to combat taboos, stigma and prejudices surrounding AIDS and the modes of HIV transmission, as well as to ensure that lifesaving medicines and a possible future vaccine be made available to citizens at affordable prices.
"The past decades have shown that in every society, a supportive, non-judgmental environment is the foundation for making progress against AIDS," the UNAIDS report said. "People must have no fear about accessing HIV prevention and treatment services."
"Mandatory approaches, in contrast, worsen fears and have not worked in practise," it added.
During the summit, ASEAN leaders were expected to affirm their commitment to prioritize, lead and strengthen national AIDS programmes, as well as ensure that policies and programmes respond to the people most at risk and most in need in the region.
by Girlie Linao
