Complex sentence: AIDS in Asia has grown alarmingly in the last 20 years and the rapid growth of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Thailand and the Philippines began in the late 1980s, as in many other countries in Asia.
Split into simpler sentences: AIDS in Asia has grown alarmingly in the last 20 years. The rapid growth of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Thailand and the Philippines began in the late 1980s, as in many other countries in Asia.