MANILA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help the government of Papua New Guinea control and stabilize the spread of HIV/AIDS infection in the country through a grant of15 million U.S. dollars, an ADB report said on Tuesday.

    The new project - for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control in Rural Development Enclaves -seeks to attain higher levels of coordination among government, private sector, development partners, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations, private sector organizations and affected communities in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the report said.

    It will focus on rural areas where communities are centered on mines, plantations, fisheries or other private sector operations.

    "These rural development enclaves are high risk areas for HIV's spread," said Philip Erquiaga, Director General of ADB's Pacific Department, adding that "Addressing the problem in such places represents a great opportunity to stem the disease's spread."

    The project will help the government initiate partnerships with the private sector operators at such communities to set up or improve primary health care and HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention facilities. At least four sites will be initially chosen, with more to be added later.

    Support will also be given under the project to strengthen Papua New Guinea's currently limited HIV/AIDS surveillance system, which will be developed and expanded to cover the local facility level.

    As of mid-2004, around 47,000 people were infected with HIV virus in Papua New Guinea, which has reached an advanced and critical stage in its infection patterns. Enditem