UN Agencies released report on prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Asia-Pacific region

According to a UN report, India, China and Pakistan are among the 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific that account for 98 per cent of youngsters aged 10 to 19 living with HIV. As per report it is facing a “hidden epidemic” of HIV among adolescents.

The Asia-Pacific Inter-Agency Task Team on Young Key Populations including UNICEF and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS published the report ‘Adolescents: Under the Radar in the Asia-Pacific AIDS Response’.

Key highlights:

• In 2014, 220,000 adolescents between 10-19 years were projected to be living with HIV in Asia and the Pacific.
• India is among the 10 countries in the region that is 98 per cent of those aged 10-19 are living with HIV. Other countries are Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
• 50,000 new infections in 2014 among those aged 15 to 19