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 in sex industry.

Asia Pacific region, which had seven million people living with HIV, was set to become the epicenter of the global pandemic in the next 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 of this 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 to promote condoms," said the WHO statement. "In many countries, they are unavailable or costly and there may be little public knowledge about their benefits."

Myanmar needed some 50 million condoms annually but was unable to make them locally. Several million condoms were imported a year by 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.

Close

Today's Top News		Top Lifestyle News
+Commentary: US job losses not China's fault ( 2003-08-18) +Civil flights to be policed from October ( 2003-08-18) +Earthquake topples 7,900 homes, kills three ( 2003-08-18) +China to restructure auto industry ( 2003-08-18) +Regulators plan long-term boost for bourses ( 2003-08-18)		+Billions of condoms needed to stop AIDs spread in Asia ( 2003-08-18) +Six Chinese children die playing hide and seek ( 2003-08-18) +Art world up in arms over David's facelift ( 2003-08-18) +Rare antelope to give birth in NW China province ( 2003-08-18) +Investors welcomed to reclaim wasteland, grow trees in Xinjiang ( 2003-08-18)