WHO: Asian conditions allow AIDS to spread faster

Ignorance, fear, denial and intolerance of HIV/AIDS are creating an environment that could allow the disease to spread faster in Asia, the World Health Organization warned yesterday.

Shigeru Omi, WHO’s regional director for the Western Pacific, said the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS — often linked to cultural or religious beliefs or lack of education — sometimes leads to denial of the problem, heightening the risk of the disease spreading further.

To raise public awareness, the world health body will focus on the need to eliminate the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS — and the discrimination against its sufferers — when it marks World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. — AP, Sheila Crisostomo