Papua New Guinea’s adult national HIV prevalence of 1.8% [0.9%–4.4%] implies that about 57 000 [31 000–140 000] people older than 15 years were living with HIV in 2005 (UNAIDS, 2006). Australia’s HIV epidemic still centers mainly on unsafe sex between men, which has accounted for more than two thirds of newly diagnosed HIV infections so far this decade. A resurgence of unsafe sex between men appears to be the major risk factor for these new infections.

An estimated 69 000 [33 000–220 000] people were living with HIV in 2005 in Malaysia, where the most common risk factor for HIV infection was exposure to contaminated drug injecting equipment (UNAIDS, 2006). In the Philippines, where HIV is being transmitted primarily during unprotected sex (National Epidemiology Center, 2006), national adult HIV prevalence remains well under 0.1% (UNAIDS, 2006). Less than 1% of sex workers are infected with HIV.

Approximately 17 000 [10 000–29 000] adults and children were living with HIV in Japan in 2005. An increasing number of HIV infections are being found in men who have sex with men, who account for at least 60% of annual reported HIV infections (Shimada et al., 2006). In Thailand, an estimated 580 000 [330 000–920 000] adults and children were living with HIV at the end of 2005 (UNAIDS, 2006). The number of new annual HIV infections continues to drop—the estimated 18 000 new infections in 2005 were 10% less than in 2004. Meanwhile men who have sex with men in Thailand remain at high risk of HIV infection. In Bangkok, HIV prevalence has risen steeply among men who have sex with men—from 17% in 2003 to 28% in 2005.

None of the other countries and territories in this region have reported more than 300 HIV cases since testing commenced (Secretariat of the Pacific Community, 2005). However, risk factors associated with HIV outbreaks are prevalent in many of those countries and territories. Only one quarter of persons deemed at-risk of HIV infection in Fiji, Kiribati and Vanuatu. In Vanuatu, 9% of young men said they had bought sex in the previous 12 months, yet only one in ten of them reported using condoms consistently during commercial sex. Vietnam’s epidemic continues to increase, with HIV having been detected in all 64 provinces and all cities. The number of people living with HIV has doubled since 2000, and reached an estimated 260 000 [150 000–430 000] in 2005. Some 40 000 people are being infected with HIV each year (Ministry of Health Viet Nam, 2005), the vast majority of them injecting drug users and persons who buy or sell sex.

Source:UNAIDS, 2006 AIDS Epidemic Update, December 2006