Sad to hear, within the first nine months of last year, 6,897 people in China died from HIV/AIDS-related issues. This is the country’s leading cause of death among infectious diseases for the first time ever, surpassing both rabies and tuberculosis. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that this HIV epidemic may only continue to spread throughout Asia, and that’s unless countries immediately open access to services for men who have sex with men (MSM).

The MSM is the biggest problem, as HIV causes AIDS by killing or damaging cells of the body’s immune system and progressively devastating the body’s ability to fight infections and some forms or types of cancer. It’s very important to fight against MSM, and WHO’s Regional Office for the Western Pacific, the United Nations Development Program (UNAIDS) and the Hong Kong Department of Health have joined forces in order to stop this.

These organizers of the collective effort agreed with Asian government HIV specialists and other organizations to join a meeting that will last three days, starting on February the 18th. They will try and determine a strategy for providing better services to the MSM population. Countries that will send their representatives include Australia, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Japan, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.

The WHO states that supervision and implementation of effective care for men having sex with men is a top priority in fighting against HIV. Unfortunately, some societies deem male-to-male sex as unacceptable and some members of the MSM population may choose not to disclose their sexual orientation or make use of HIV services, therefore increasing their vulnerability. Recent data from Cambodia and Vietnam indicates MSM have a greater likelihood of contracting HIV than the general population. Prevention interventions currently reach a mere one percent of the MSM population. The national strategic plans for HIV don’t cover interventions for MSM or transgender individuals.

Over 33 million people around the world are living with HIV/AIDS today. Effective HIV care that includes antiretroviral therapies and regular access to primary health care can help people manage their HIV disease and live longer, but no effective cure for a permanent recovery is yet known. HIV is transmitted through direct contact of a mucous membrane or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, preseminal fluid, and breast milk.

 This transmission can involve anal, vaginal or oral sex, blood transfusion, contaminated hypodermic needles, exchange between mother and baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding, or other exposure to one of the above bodily fluids. Genetic research indicates that HIV originated in west-central Africa during the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.  AIDS was first recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1981 and its cause, HIV, identified in the early 1980s.