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Asia’s Migrant Workers Need Help to Curb HIV/Aids

DW StaffMay 23, 2007

This week is Global AIDS Week of Action. CARAM Asia -- a Malaysia-based non-government coalition of migrant and health groups from 15 different countries -- has sent an open letter to various governments in Asia regarding the vulnerability of the 53 million migrant workers to HIV infections.

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HIV/AIDS is spreading across Asia
HIV/AIDS is spreading across AsiaImage: AP

In an open letter to the governments of Asia published earlier this week, CARAM urges them to increase the funding and provision of resources for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. More than eight million people live with the virus in Asia today.

But according to the latest World Health Organisation report, only 16 percent of this total, are receiving the necessary anti-retroviral therapy. Governments are struggling to ensure that their populations can get access to treatment, explained Cynthia Gabriel, the regional co-ordinator of CARAM Asia.

"We don’t want to undermine Africa, but the fact is that the 2006 global Aids report states that Asia has surpassed Africa by sheer numbers of HIV-infections And India --because of the size of the country -- has now surpassed South-Africa as the country with the highest number of infections."

Economy booms and AIDS spreads

As Asian economies boom, migration flows across the continent are growing -- and with the increased movement of people comes a more rapid spread of HIV/AIDS.

Gabriel explained that the growing mobile populations were very vulnerable of contracting the virus -- partly because of their mobile status, partly because they do not have adequate access to medical services and treatment.

If migrant workers contract the virus in their host country, they are usually immediately deported without receiving treatment. Most Asian governments do not consider the migrants a top priority and have not included them in their health plans.

Caram highlighted the specific plight in the letter, saying that they should not be forgotten.

Universal access

More generally, the NGO has also called on Asian governments to put more pressure on the G8 countries. At their 2005 meeting in Gleneagles, the G8 set a target of universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment by 2015.

"What we’re asking is for the G8 countries which are really the wealthiest countries in the world to actually make good their promises they made in 2005, to ensure that all the financial aid that was committed actually becomes reality," said Gabriel.

This financial aid is desperately needed to provide anti-retroviral-drugs to HIV-positive people, she explained. And she said the prospects would be bleak if the goal of global access wasn't met by 2015.

"What will happen is, in term of numbers, you'll get about five million people actually dying because of the lack of access to treatment."