The South Pacific's Papua New Guinea (PNG) is at risk of an HIV-AIDS epidemic, with the experts forecasting that its labor force might be cut by around 38 percent by 2020, according to report from Port Moresby, capital of the country.

The National's Thursday report said PNG faces an HIV/AIDS crisis to rival Africa's worst-affected nations unless immediate, large-scale action.

Under an absolute worst-case scenario, experts warn that an unfettered epidemic in PNG could claim up to 120,000 lives per year.

According to the UN statistics, HIV prevalence in PNG is up to 2 percent of the adult population, with the number of people infected each year rising by 15 to 30 percent since 1997.

"The epidemic is currently driven by commercial and casual sex and is heterosexual in nature," said Elden Chamberlain, an Australian Red Cross HIV-AIDS adviser.

"This makes it all the more difficult to contain, as it is not just isolated groups of people who are most vulnerable to infection," said Chamberlain.

Source: Xinhua