50 Million Women In Asia At Risk Of HIV, According To UNAIDS Report

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 14 Aug 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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Approximately 50 million women in Asia are at risk of contracting HIV from their husbands or long-term partners, according to a UNAIDS report released on Tuesday at the Ninth International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, the AP/Google News reports. According to the report, by 2008, women accounted for 35% of all adult HIV cases in Asia, compared with 17% in 1990. In addition, more than 90% of the 1.7 million HIV-positive women in Asia contracted the virus from their husbands or long-term partners, according to UNAIDS. It added that in Cambodia, India and Thailand, the largest number of new HIV cases occurs among married women.

According to the report, the spread of HIV in Asia primarily occurs through unprotected commercial sex, the sharing of dirty needles among injection drug users and unprotected sex among men who have sex with men. Men who buy sex make up the largest group living with HIV, according to the report, which added that most of these men are either married or will get married. The report found that at least 75 million men regularly buy sex in Asia, while an additional 20 million are MSM or IDUs. "This puts a significant number of women, often perceived as 'low risk' because they only have sex with their husbands or long-term partners, at risk of HIV infection," UNAIDS said.

Prasada Rao, director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team Asia and the Pacific, said, "HIV prevention programs focused on the female partners of men with high-risk behaviors still have not found a place in national HIV plans and priorities in Asian countries." According to the report, the dominating patriarchal culture in many Asian countries hinders women's ability to control their sex lives. "Discrimination and violence against women and girls, endemic to our social fabric, are both the cause and consequence of AIDS," Jean D'Cunha, South Asia regional director for the United Nations Development Fund for Women, said. She added, "Striking at the root of gender inequalities and striving to transform male behaviors are key to effectively addressing the pandemic."

The report calls for increased efforts to prevent the spread of HIV among MSM, IDUs and the clients of female sex workers. It adds that HIV programs should stress the importance of preventing the spread of HIV to their regular female sex partners (Lederer, AP/Google News, 8/11).

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