HIV in Southeast Asia - A portrait


In Asia, HIV arrived in the early 1990s, but since then it has rapidly spread. By 1992, 699,000 people in Southeast Asia were infected with HIV. In 2001 in South and Southeast Asia, an estimated 3.7 million people were living with HIV; in 2011 there were 4 million people.

Each country in the region faces a different situation and different challenges. Some, like Thailand, are adopting strategies that have successfully reduced the rate of new infections. Others are still failing to contain the epidemic. This is a portrait of HIV in Southeast Asia, with the exception of Singapore, for which I have not found enough significant data.


For each country in 2013, the map shows the prevalence of HIV (the percentage of the population that is HIV-positive at that given time) and the anti-retroviral therapy coverage (the percentage of people who need therapy who are actually receiving it). When it comes to HIV,though, the countries with the highest prevalence may sometime deserve applause, not condemnation: prevalence can be high because those with HIV are getting the treatment they need and therefore are surviving, increasing the total number of people living with the disease. Click on each country to gain more insight.