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Int'l congress on AIDS closes in Colombo (2) |
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21:18, August 23, 2007 |
It also urged governments to recognize the rights and listen to the voices of women.
In the drug issue, the declaration asked government to "stop treating drug use as a criminal offense rather than a public health issue."
The participants also called on governments to meet the potential epidemic squarely by addressing the challenges posed by prevention of mother to child transmission, sexual and reproductive health education, child marriage and gender based violence.
With the theme of "waves of change, waves of hope", about 2,500 delegates from over 70 countries and regions, mostly in Asia and the Pacific, attended the meeting opened on Sunday.
The five-day congress brought together politicians, government officials, medical experts, academics, people living with HIV/AIDS, community workers to discuss a wide range of issues with regard to the epidemic that is confronting this region.
With seven regional congresses held so far from the inaugural summit in Canberra, Australia (1990) to Kobe, Japan (2005), the 8th ICAAP was the first occasion for the summit took place in a low HIV prevalence country.
Figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that between 2.8 and 9.8 million people were living with HIV in Asia in 2006 and between 310,000 and 610,000 people became newly infected with the virus.
The WHO said between 140,000 and 610,000 people died from AIDS- related illnesses in 2006 in the region.
It has been decided that the 9th ICAAP will be held in Bali, Indonesia in 2009.
Source: Xinhua
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