Ignorance, denial and intolerance have created an environment which allows HIV/AIDS to spread easily in Asia, the Western Pacific regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
"Blaming people and making moral judgements do not help stop the disease from spreading," said Shigeru Omi in a statement issued from the regional headquarters in the Philippine capital.
He warned that "stigmatized groups tend to become more hidden and opportunities for giving them treatment and information are lost," spreading the disease even further.
To address this, Omi said that World AIDS Day on December 1 would focus on the need to eliminate the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS.
He remarked that in Asia, cultural and religious beliefs often stigmatized vulnerable sectors like drug users, sex workers and homosexuals, causing some societies to deny the existence of the problem.
Omi said the Western Pacific region accounts for 1.4 million of the world's 40 million HIV/AIDS cases but it is feared this number will increase due to discrimination and fear.
The WHO has previously warned that high-risk behaviour was increasing in the region and that there were signs of growing levels of infections, particularly in Mongolia, the Philippines and Pacific island countries.
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