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A number of Asian and the Pacific
countries have very low rates of HIV infection – less than 0.1 per
cent – and can still prevent serious epidemics, at relatively low
cost. Representatives from 11 low-prevalence countries will meet at
the Chinggis Khaan Hotel in Ulaanbaatar to discuss how.
In this first meeting of its
kind, experts from governments, civil society and international organizations
will share experiences – on actions taken to reduce risky behavior,
for example. They will identify obstacles and opportunities, and strategies
for scaling up national responses to AIDS.
The aim is to help countries
develop their own “roadmaps” towards achieving universal access
to prevention, treatment, care and support services by 2010, as called
for by the UN’s 2006 High-Level Meeting on AIDS in June.
Participating countries include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam,
Fiji, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
“These countries have a unique
opportunity to keep HIV at bay, if they act now,” said J.V.R. Prasada
Rao, Director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Asia and the Pacific.
“But they cannot be complacent. Small socio-economic changes, like
a shift in migration or greater availability of injectable drugs, could
trigger larger epidemics.”
The conference organizers are
the Government of Mongolia, the UN Country Team in Mongolia, UNFPA,
WHO, UNICEF, UNDP and UNAIDS.
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