Southeast Asia: ASEAN Leaders Told 1.5 Million Are Living With HIV

At a meeting in the Philippines Saturday, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were told they must redouble and sustain efforts to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in the region.

More than 1.5 million people in the 10 ASEAN countries are living with HIV, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot said in a written report presented during a special summit session on HIV/AIDS. While the epidemic has slowed in a few countries, more than 1.5 percent of the adult population is infected in hard-hit nations such as Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand.

Piot said he is troubled by indicators that include rising rates of infection among women and young people. "The most worrying fact for the ASEAN countries is that AIDS affects the most productive sections of your populations ... the workforce which is the powerhouse of economic development of the region," he said.

HIV/AIDS is "a long-run threat to development and national security in Asia," Piot said in the report. He urged leaders to strengthen efforts against the disease, particularly targeting those most at risk -- young people, sex workers, injection drug users and men who have sex with men. "This is where the epidemic in ASEAN countries is largely still concentrated and where investments will reap the highest returns," he noted.

In addition, stigma and prejudice must be addressed, said Piot. "You have shown that the highest principle, at the core of ASEAN's visions of a caring society, is that of saving lives," the report said. "A strong national AIDS response is also about saving lives."

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