Asia-Pacific: Economic Losses Linked to HIV/AIDS Now in the Billions

A 10-member independent commission launched in New Delhi over the weekend intends to "show leaders and governments in the [Asia-Pacific] region the urgent necessity to invest in AIDS if they are to maintain their achievements in development," said Chakravarthy Rangarajan, head of the commission. Leading economists, scientists, and activists are on the commission.

The non-UN entity expects to offer its findings and recommendations by December 2007. In 2001, the Asia-Pacific region lost $7.3 billion to HIV/AIDS. By 2010, the region's HIV/AIDS-related economic losses are expected to reach $17.5 billion per year. To prevent this, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a stronger response is needed in the areas of prevention, information dissemination to at-risk groups, and improved health care for HIV/AIDS patients.

"The political leadership in this region is not alive to the fact that a large number of people are infected and that will have socioeconomic consequences," said J.V.R. Prasada Rao, director of UNAIDS' Asia-Pacific office.

According to ADB, in 2003 the region needed some $1.5 billion to fund a comprehensive HIV/AIDS program, but "only $200 million was available from all sources of public and donor funding." By 2007, funding needs are expected to reach $5.1 billion.

UNAIDS figures show 8.3 million HIV patients in Asia. Last year, there were 930,000 new infections in Asia, and 600,000 AIDS-related deaths. The number of patients receiving antiretrovirals increased from 70,000 in 2003 to 180,000 in 2005, nearly half of them in Thailand.

In June, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, a Bangkok-based UN regional body, sounded the alarm about the growing number of HIV infections among Asian youth, stating in a study that "half of all new infections have occurred among youth."

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