Sixth International Conference on AIDS in Southeast Asia and Pacific Draws AIDS Groups
As many Asian countries are "experiencing explosive localized growth" in their AIDS rates, some activists are "loudly and relentlessly" lobbying their governments to respond to the epidemic by funding treatment initiatives, the New York Times reports. Many activists spoke to participants at the Sixth International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific last week, urging countries "low on resources" to respond to the disease, which is normally "associated with sex and drugs in socially conservative societies." Groups such as the Spiritia Foundation in Indonesia and the Indian Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS "play much the same role as ACT UP did in the United States 20 years ago," as they push for government and international action on the issue of drug treatment for HIV-positive individuals in poorer nations (Rosenthal, New York Times, 10/14).
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