According to specialists, if the governments of Asian countries take steps to stop the spread of HIV, the number of citizens infected with this virus could increase twofold within the next five years.
At present, around 8.6 million people in Asia are infected with HIV - the virus causing Aids. If the governments will still be inappropriately responding to this situation, that number could rise to about twenty million within five years, informed the independent Commission on Aids in Asia.
According to the Associated Press, the commission is financed by UNAIDS. It has recently issued the warning I the course of a two-day workshop in Manila, Philippines.
HIV/Aids is responsible for the death of around 500 000 people annually in Asia and leads to financial losses of about $10 billion a year. The commission informed that the economic cost could reach as much as $29 billion yearly if the epidemic is not under control within five years.
Despite the fact that HIV/Aids cause the serious threat, the commission informed that present expenditure on HIV control in Asia is only nearly ten per cent of the necessary $5 billion a year, the Associated Press announced.
