Papua New Guinea (PNG)'s government on Thursday rejected a report which predicted that up to a quarter of the nation's population could be infected with HIV/ AIDS by 2020 and up to a million people could die of AIDs in the Pacific country.

The report, which was released earlier on Thursday, was from the Center for Independent Studies, an Australian think-tank.

Health Minister Peter Barter told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio that the projection does not recognize the efforts already being made by the government to stem the tide in the nation, with a population of around 5.4 million.

"Mathematically, I guess it's possible in the worst possible scenario, but the fact is that we don't have the worst scenario in Papua New Guinea," he was quoted as saying.

"We're actively engaged in combating HIV," he added.

"And I don't think that the report ... takes this into account, " he said.

The report's author, Miranda Darling Tobias, told ABC radio that the predictions are based on current trends.

"I think the problem has been looming and it's now snowballing," she said.

"Those projections are if nobody does anything, but if current trends continue that's what we'll get to," she said.

She said that the spread of HIV/AIDS in PNG is being driven by biological, social and political factors.

The larger problem, she said, is "the way that women are treated, and that all stems from lack of economic growth, poverty (and) desperation."

However, Barter said the report will not be helpful in tackling the stigma which surrounds HIV/AIDS in PNG.

"One of the greatest problems we have is to change attitudes and to remove the stigmatization to people who have HIV," he said.

Source: Xinhua