HIV and AIDS in Asia

In the early to mid-1980s, while other parts of the world were beginning to deal with serious HIV and AIDS epidemics, Asia remained relatively unaffected. By the early 1990s, however, AIDS epidemics had emerged in several Asian countries, and by the end of the decade, HIV was spreading rapidly in many areas of the continent.

Activists campaigning against HIV-related discrimination in India

Today, around 4.7 million people are living with HIV in Asia.¹ Although national HIV prevalence rates in Asia appear to be relatively low, the populations of some Asian countries are so vast that these low percentages actually represent very large numbers of people living with HIV. India, for example, has an estimated HIV prevalence of 0.3%, which seems low when compared to prevalence rates in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa. However, with a population of around one billion, this actually equates to 2.5 million people living with HIV in India.²

Although it is useful to understand the overall impact that AIDS is having on the Asian region as a whole, there is no single ‘Asian epidemic’; each country in the region faces a different situation. Progress has been made in countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand, where there has been evidence of a decline in HIV prevalence. On the other hand, in Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam the number of people living with HIV has increased.³

Some have warned that epidemics in Asia could escalate to the extent of rivalling those in some parts of Africa. Others, however, argue that Asia's epidemics are on a different trajectory to those found in Africa, as HIV infection in Asia is still largely concentrated among members of 'high-risk' groups.