At the end of last year there were 420,000 cases in the region. Now the conservative estimate runs at 700,000. In sub-Saharan Africa, where a devastating 25.3m men, women and children are effectively under sentence of death with HIV, there is for the first time a glimmer of light. The number of new infections dropped slightly in 2000 to 3.8m from the 4m of last year. The new fear is for Asia.
Huge populations are at risk.
Unicef, the UN children's fund, fears Asia could eclipse Africa if more is not done to stop the virus spreading. In India, the numbers are thought to be under-reported in a political climate of denial that unsafe and promiscuous sex is rife. China is now seeing a steep rise in sexually transmitted infections, which usually bring HIV infection in their wake. A powerful and effective campaign brought condoms to the red light districts, but now it appears the virus has passed out of the world of commercial sex to thrive among pregnant women who have had sex only with their husbands or boyfriends. And the Thai government, proud of its success in tackling HIV, has cut the budget.