HIV/AIDS is spreading rapidly in East Asia and the Pacific. However, children and youth have not been adequately included in the region’s HIV/AIDS prevention programs.
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| HIV/AIDS children receiving antiviral medication at an orphanage in Cambodia |
As of the end of 2005, approximately 450,000 children in the region had lost one or both parents due to AIDS, and hundreds of thousands of other children lived with chronically ill or dying parents.
More than 30,000 children are living with HIV and AIDS, with nearly 11,000 new infections reported last year. Millions of other children and youth in the region are at high risk of contracting HIV or facing stigma and discrimination.
This information was presented at the Regional Consultation Conference on Children and AIDS, which opened on the morning of March 22 in Hanoi.
Experts believe that the actual situation regarding HIV/AIDS in the region is more severe than what is currently known.
The lack of accurate and consistent data on children and youth has hindered regional AIDS prevention programs. Currently, only a few countries in the region have gathered such data, and it primarily exists at the provincial level.
A recent youth survey conducted by Save the Children in six countries in the region revealed that while many children and youth are aware of information regarding HIV/AIDS, this information is often inaccurate and ineffective.
Moreover, the most vulnerable children reported that they do not have access to HIV prevention services.
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