World Aids Day 2012

Countries in Asia and Asia-Pacific regions mark World Aids Day.

Published

6 months ago

Categories

World, Health

Topics

World

Places

India, Australia, Bangladesh, Taiwan

Transcript

PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION Bangladeshis took to the streets on Saturday (December 1) to mark World Aids Day and raise awareness of the condition. Residents marched through Dhaka carrying signs and placards, in some places with musical accompaniment. UNAIDS says more than 7000 people are living with HIV in Bangladesh which saw its first case in 1989. On Friday (November 30) Sydney Opera House was lit up red and spectators were treated to a fireworks display for the big day. Australia's government says it is committed to reducing the number of new HIV infections and the number of deaths from AIDS to which HIV leads. In Taiwan more than 1, 000 high school students got together to form the shape of a giant red ribbon for World AIDS Day as part of the campaign to raise awareness of the risks among young people. There have been just under 4, 600 HIV infections in the country since the first case was found in 1984. Taiwan's Centre for Disease Control says more than half the cases have emerged in the past five years. In India, which is in top three countries with the highest number of people living with HIV, sand artist Manas Sadhu and an army of helpers have carved out a giant red ribbon sculpture. There are 2.5 million people infected with HIV in India but the government spends only about one per cent of its GDP on healthcare facilities, making it a struggle for millions of people to get medication. Worldwide, a United Nations report says about 34 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2011. Deaths from AIDS fell to 1.7 million in 2011, down from a peak of 2.3 million in 2005. The number of people newly infected with HIV, which can be transmitted through blood and semen, is also falling. At 2.5 million, the number of new infections in 2011 was 20 percent lower than in 2001.