Asia-Pacific's first online HIV/AIDS data hub launched

Nov 28, 2008, 3:21 GMT

   Manila - An online resource hub providing comprehensive information on HIV and AIDS in Asia and the Pacific was launched in the Philippines on Friday in a bid to boost efforts to stop the spread of the deadly disease.

   The Evidence to Action initiative was launched in partnership between the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB), the UN Joint Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

   The first-ever one-stop database provides information on most-risk population groups, women, children and young people, as well as updates on prevalence, behaviours and national responses.

   'This data hub initiative is important to help us understand the AIDS epidemics in Asia-Pacific, which can greatly facilitate decision making by national leaders,' ADB Vice President Ursula Schaefer-Preuss said at the launching.

   'A data hub can easily monitor interventions for the right groups at the right places, given the concentrated nature of HIV and AIDS in Asia-Pacific,' she added.

   Prasada Rao, director of UNAIDS regional support team for Asia-Pacific, added that the database would help 'prioritize interventions on those most-at-risk and achieve a high level of service and behavioural change to halt the spread of HIV in the most cost-effective way.'

   According to the Commission on AIDS in Asia, the AIDS epidemics in Asia-Pacific has been mostly attributed to unprotected paid sex, sexual contact between men and other men, and injecting drug use with shared needles.

   Men who buy sex are becoming a key driver of Asia's HIV epidemics, the commission noted.

   In a recent report, the commission estimated at least 75 million Asian men buy sex regularly from about 10 million Asian women who sell sex. Male-male sex and drug injections add another 20 million or more to the men at high risk of HIV infection.

   Anupama Rao Singh, regional director of UNICEF, which will manage the online resource hub, said the database would ensure 'wide and equal access to evidence by stakeholders involved in national and localized responses.'

   'The access is critical, especially in monitoring how the epidemic is spreading from the most-at-risk populations to women and children,' she said. 'The data hub provides a nexus of data and information that can help us know our epidemics better.'

   Singh said the database would also help track other Medium Development Goals, including primary health care and social determinants of HIV.

   Equipped with the latest statistics, the online hub's information comprises all of the internationally accepted standardized indicators ranging from HIV prevalence and condom-use rate to knowledge and country specific indicators.

   Trend analysis and quality of data are assessed and monitored by an advisory group of 15 multi-disciplinary HIV and AIDS epidemiologists and public health experts who also guide the hub's effort to harmonize data reporting.

   WHO Regional Director Shigeru Omi said the rapid data collection and strong analysis was key to universal access, especially for the most vulnerable groups in Asia and the Pacific.

   'This public resource ensures, at the regional level, services coverage is tracked, the epidemic's trajectory better understood, and new knowledge is captured, all of which contribute to our efforts for an HIV-free future,' he said.