More than 1.5 million children in Asia and the Pacific are now orphaned by AIDS, making protection, care and support efforts for children more urgent than ever, according to new regional data,

The data on orphans was revealed Sunday at a satellite session on children and HIV/AIDS in Asia and Pacific organized by UNICEF, Family Health International (FHI), and Save the Children UK during the Seventh International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific being held from Friday to Tuesday in Kobe, west Japan.

"This regional data will further help us to target our actions and to get to grips with the magnitude of the problem regarding children in Asia and the Pacific. Accurate data at local, national and regional levels is crucial to how we manage our collective response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic," said Anupama Rao Singh, regional director of UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office.

In addition to those orphaned by AIDS, another 121,000 children were estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific by the end of 2004, with an estimated 47,000 children newly infected last year alone.

For children infected with the virus, the treatment situation is bleak. While almost 35,000 children are in need of antiretroviral drugs in Asia and the Pacific, only a small fraction is currently receiving treatment.

Similarly, more than one quarter of a million children are in need of Cotrimoxazole, a cost-efficient antibiotic which helps prevent HIV-related infections. Only a few children are actual beneficiaries.

While the number of children orphaned by AIDS is alarming, they represent only a segment of those affected by HIV/AIDS. Many more children in Asia and the Pacific are thought to be living with sick and dying parents or relatives and are at risk of losing their caregivers.

Failure to accelerate regional efforts to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on children raises the risk that more children will fall through the cracks and face barriers in accessing education, health care and other basic services.

"This is an urgent wake up call for action," said Rao Singh. " We not only have to do much more to protect and care for these children, but also step up primary prevention efforts to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS."

At the satellite session, UNICEF, FHI and Save the Children UK called for urgent implementation of the Framework for the Protection, Care, and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV/AIDS.

The framework, drawn up in July 2004 in collaboration with a broad array of governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, the private sector and civil society, provides strategies to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on children.

Source: Xinhua