Monthly Archives: February 2014

HIV REMAINS CONCENTRATED AMONG KEY POPULATIONS AND IN CITIES This is an extract from the report ‘HIV in Asia and the Pacific: UNAIDS Report 2013′. Get the full report here.  The fastest-growing epidemics in the region are among men who have sex with men; these epidemics are typically concentrated in major cities. Estimates based on country information indicate that the regional population of men who have sex with men who are at risk of HIV infection ranges from 10.5–27 million. HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men is more than 10% in at least 10 major urban centres. 3 For example, the national prevalence for men who have sex with men in Thailand is estimated to be 7.1%; in Bangkok, levels are estimated to be 24.7%. 4 See the special feature on the issue of men who have sex with men and HIV (page 33). An estimated 3–4 million people living in Asia inject drugs. In three countries with expanding epidemics — Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines — injecting drug use has been a significant factor in the spread of HIV. In 2012, HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs was 36.4% in Indonesia, 27.2% in Pakistan and 13.6% in the Philippines. 5 National trends sometimes mask significant geographical variations in HIV prevalence among injecting drug users. In the Philippine province of Cebu, prevalence among people who inject drugs was estimated at 53.8% in 2011 compared with 13.6% nationally. 6 In the province of Thai Nguyen in Viet Nam, the prevalence among this group was reported to be 38.8% in 2012, compared with national prevalence of 11.6%. 7 There has been progress in reducing new HIV infections among female sex workers across the region. National prevalence has declined in the early epidemics of Cambodia, India, Myanmar and Thailand, and has been kept low in some countries including China, Nepal and the Philippines. Nevertheless, challenges remain. Based on a [...]