Suddenly, a chill ran though my spine. The HIV virus is already present in all countries of Asia. Whether or not we want to admit it, there are people engaged in high risk behaviors everywhere. There are people who inject drugs. There is commercial sex.
People engage in unsafe sexual practices.
AIDS can shrink economies, as it threatens people in their most productive years. Just search for any Nairobi newspapers on the Internet, and open the obituary section. The worst-hit countries in East Asia are feeling a similar impact. Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand have lost 2-3 years of life expectancy to AIDS, and the majority of those infected are not yet showing signs of illness. Since 1970, life expectancy in nine East Asian nations rose by 10 years or more.