Although the number of people infected with HIV and full-blown AIDS is rising in Asia and the Pacific, prevention programs are not high on policy makers’ agendas, treatment is expensive, and no cure is in sight. The period between infection and symptom onset is typically long, and surveillance systems in most countries at threat are still weak.

This book discusses the economic impact of HIV/AIDS in the mid 2000s. Because AIDS disproportionately strikes working-age adults, its capacity to inflict economic damage is great. Families face reduced income and higher medical expenses; children stop attending school; savings disappear as basic needs become harder to satisfy; workplace productivity plummets. And what of those who are vulnerable to the disease and more poverty? The growing economies of Asia and the Pacific may be at risk on a macroeconomic level.

This book makes three points. HIV/AIDS is likely to spread at a more modest rate in Asia than in sub-Saharan Africa, with levels above 5% unlikely. But the epidemic will still impede Asia’s economic development through its effects on women, the poor, the less educated, and workers in some industries. Spending on HIV prevention and AIDS care is justified by the expenditures' expected high economic returns.

Keywords
HIV infection and transmission, full-blown AIDS in Asia and the Pacific; HIV/AIDS prevention programs and treatment in Asia and the Pacific; surveillance of HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific; economic impact of HIV/AIDS. In Asia and the Pacific; effect of HIV/AIDS on income, expenses, education, work, and productivity in Asia and the Pacific; effect of HIV/AIDS on women, the poor, the less educated, and workers in Asia and the Pacific

Topic: HIV / AIDS; Others

Publication Date: 2004