[Ip-health] India has most Aids infections

[Ira Glazer]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329492736-106925,00.html

James Sturcke and agencies
Tuesday May 30, 2006

India has overtaken South Africa as the country with the most Aids
infections, it was revealed today, as the head of the UN programme
against the disease warned that the epidemic would "spread to every
corner of the world".

The south Asian country has around 5.7million people infected with the
disease, an annual report by UNAIDS found, compared to South Africa's
5.4 million sufferers. Peter Piot, the executive director of UNAIDS,
said the rise of the disease in the Asia-Pacific was a concern.

Though infection rates - at 0.9% of people - in India are far below
those of sub-Saharan Africa, where up to a third of people are infected
in some countries, the sheer population of Asia means even small
statistical gains equate to huge numbers of people.

The disease is spreading chiefly through heterosexual intercourse in the
world's second most populous country, the report said. Last year, less
than 10% of people needing antiretroviral treatment were receiving it.

Speaking as the report revealed that more than 25 million people have
died from Aids since it emerged a quarter of a century ago, Dr Piot said
the world was falling woefully short of meeting targets to prevent the
disease from being passed from mothers to their children.

Only 9% of pregnant women in poor countries are receiving services, such
as access to drugs, to help prevent mother-to-child transmission,
despite a UNAIDS goal of 80% coverage.

"The thing I'm most disappointed with and surprised about is prevention
of mother-to-child transmission," Dr Piot said. "For HIV, the coverage
is still very low and we didn't meet the target. Here we have something
that is non-controversial; it's about saving the babies."

Sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 24.5 million people suffer from Aids
- out of a global total of 38.6million - remained the focus of concern.

"I think in Africa, it is only comparable in demographic terms to the
slave trade regarding the impact it has had on the population," Dr Piot
told the Associated Press. "In southern Africa, HIV prevalence continues
to go up, and they're already the world record."

One in three pregnant women in South Africa tested HIV-positive in
public antenatal clinics in 2004. Nearly 19% of adults were infected
nationwide last year and the per capita rate is continuing to climb. It
also found that the funding gap had increased and there will be a $20bn
(=A310.6bn) shortfall in funds for Aids projects by 2008.

However, the 630-page report published as world leaders were gathering
for a three-day Aids conference in New York, also found some room for
optimism.

It said progress had been made in some countries' responsiveness and
Aids' budgets had increased markedly in recent years. Resources for Aids
programmes have increased from $1.6bn in 2001 to $8.3bn last year.

"Encouraging results in HIV prevention and treatment indicate a growing
return on investments made in Aids response," Dr Piot added.

UNAIDS said that more than 4 million people were infected with Aids last
year and 1,800 children contract the disease every day, most of them
newborns.

Women's vulnerability to the disease continues to increase, with more
than 17 million women infected worldwide - nearly half the global total
- and more than three-quarters of them living in sub-Saharan Africa, the
report found.

Stigma and discrimination were still an issue for those infected with
the virus worldwide, and young people's knowledge about HIV/AIDS remains
low with less than 50% having adequate information about the disease - a
far cry from the 90% target UNAIDS set for 2005.

Dr Piot said Eastern Europe and Central Asia have become a new front
where infections have expanded as people have access to more money and
have started buying injecting drugs - instead of just shipping them
through - from countries like Afghanistan.

"Absolute numbers are still low, but when you look at the spread of the
disease, we know from experience where that leads," he said. "The Middle
East is the last part of the world where HIV is not spreading rapidly."

Dr Piot said that there is still time to stop Aids from worsening, but
action is needed now on a number of fronts. Currently, about 1.3 million
people in poor countries have access to antiretroviral treatment, but
about 80% still are not receiving drugs.

"Ultimately, it depends on how the leadership reacts, how the
international community will continue to respond and how ready
communities are to face the problem," Dr Piot added. "Intervention is
very low ... for many critical populations in many countries. We need to
really intensify the response to Aids.