UNAIDS, the multi-agency UN coordinating body for AIDS prevention and control, has produced its increasingly horrifying review of the world AIDS situation, just ahead of next month's world AIDS conference in South Africa. We present here an edited version of five of the organization's "fact-sheets" relating to the most affected regions and countries, including - here and there - some hints of success:
Asia
HIV/AIDS is a relatively recent but growing problem in many parts of Asia. With 60% of the world's population and widespread evidence of behaviour and situations that expose people to HIV, there is no room for complacency.
In comparison with the rates of HIV infection in Africa, those in the general population of Asia are still low. The prevalence among 15-49-year-olds exceeds 1% in only three countries - Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand. In other countries, it is often far lower. In Indonesia, the world's fourth most...