Bangladesh-Health-News

Estimated 4.9 million people are living with HIV in the Asia and the Pacific region.

Drums beating to a thunderous applause marked the opening of a major regional AIDS congress in the Thai capital on Tuesday. But a new UN report said Asia and the Pacific was at ‘a pivotal juncture’ of HIV epidemic. The report's release marked the opening of the 11th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP). It said some countries made progress, but many could not tackle new waves of infection. More than 3000 participants from 80 countries joined the four-day congress to work out strategies to achieve ‘three zeros’ –zero new infections, zero AIDS related deaths and zero discrimination. “Let us share and work together to achieve the common goal of fighting HIV/AIDS,” Chair of the Congress Local Organising Committee Wilas Lohitkul said in his opening remarks. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in her message hoped that the congress would help in developing ‘innovative strategies’ on sustainable HIV/AIDS response. Estimated 4.9 million people are living with HIV in the Asia and the Pacific region. Number of new infections has fallen by 26 percent since 2001 with some countries like India, Myanmar and Nepal able to reduce it by as much as 50 percent. But according to the new report, in some countries the new infections increased sharply. It soared by 2.6 times in Indonesia, by 8 times in Pakistan and doubled in Philippines. The rise was also evident in Bangladesh, despite low prevalence. Like others, a high level Bangladesh delegation joined the conference led by health secretary MN Neazuddin. Lawmaker, academicians, UN representatives, officials of the Partners for Population and Development, singers, and NGO workers comprise the delegation, apart from the government officials. A group of Bangladeshi drummers joined the opening show with host Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia. The conference also put Thailand under spotlight. The kingdom has been internationally acclaimed as a global leader on HIV as major steps have been taken in the early 1990s to promote awareness of safer sexual practices. New HIV infections fell dramatically in Thailand to 9,000 last year from more than 140,000 per year in 1990. “We have remarkable successes and remarkable failures in the region. So if we keep doing what we are doing right now, we’ll not be getting zero,” Steve Kraus, director, UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Asia and the Pacific. He said “quick and easy” access to testing facilities and changing laws and policies to remove the barriers of being open can make the difference. “We have 800 days before 2015, unless drastic changes happen, we’ll fall well short of MDG target,” he said.