HIV/AIDS prevention among young people in east and south-east Asia in the context of reproductive and sexual health

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), every day 5,000 young people aged 15-25 years become infected with HIV, which translates into almost 2 million new infections per year. HIV transmission generally occurs through sex, the exchange of needles; to a lesser extent, it is transmitted from an HIV infected mother to her newborn child. While most countries in the region have national HIV prevalence rates of less than one per cent, vulnerable populations, especially youths, are much more prone to HIV infection owing to lack of correct health information, indulgence in risky behaviours, poverty and gender discrimination coupled with lack of access to adequate reproductive health services.