Billions of Condoms Needed to Stop AIDs Spread in Asia: WHO

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, August 18, 2003

Billions of Condoms Needed to Stop AIDs Spread in Asia: WHO

Billions of condoms were in need to stop the spread of AIDs infection in Asia, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday before a related regional meeting opened at Vientiane.

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Billions of condoms were in need to stop the spread of AIDs infection in Asia, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday before a related regional meeting opened at Vientiane.

It's necessary to expand the use of condom, especially in the sex industry, where the rate of sexually transmitted infections was high, the organization said in a statement prepared for the four-day meeting, which was aimed to promote condom use program insex industry.

Asia Pacific region, which had seven million people living withHIV, was set to become the epicenter of the global pandemic in thenext decade unless massive prevention efforts were undertaken immediately.

Condom use was still low in most countries in the region, including in many sex establishments, escalating the spread of AIDs, said the organization.

"Condoms save lives. We need to vigorously step up promotion ofthis life-saving device to prevent millions of people getting infected," the WHO representative to Laos Giovanni Deodato was quoted by Bangkok Post as saying.

Globally, an estimated 6 to 9 billion condoms were distributed annually, but some 24 billion were still needed, it said.

The meeting therefore focused on the "100 percent condom use program", a strategy to promote condom use in the sex industry.

"A substantial proportion of HIV infections in Asia are attributed to commercial sex," said the document. "Epidemics can explode with only a small pool of sex workers infected with HIV, as seen in Thailand."

The statement continued to say that the adoption of the "100 percent" program would effectively cut down the infection cases.

"The program has prevented a few million HIV infections in Thailand," said the WHO.

Thailand had successfully promoted condom use among about 98 percent sex workers. Last year, the sex industry accounted for only 16 percent of HIV infections in Thailand.

The other good example cited by the WHO was Cambodia, where some 20 million condoms were sold last year and the sex industry only accounted for a 20 percent of HIV infections.

However, "nearly everywhere in Asia, more efforts are needed topromote condoms," said the WHO statement. "In many countries, theyare unavailable or costly and there may be little public knowledgeabout their benefits."

Myanmar needed some 50 million condoms annually but was unable to make them locally. Several million condoms were imported a yearby nongovernmental organizations.

Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Mongolia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam have introduced the programs.

Centraland local officials from the whole region were expected to discuss related issues at the meeting.

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