COLOMBO, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- A senior UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS) official on Monday called Asia-Pacific nations to commit more national funds and human resources to AIDS programs and become less reliant on external donors.

    UNAIDS Asia Pacific Regional Director Prasada Rao told the opening session of the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) that resources for national AIDS programs in Asia, while increasing, are insufficient for a durable response to AIDS.

    National governments' budgets for AIDS programs in the region account for only 30 percent of the 1.2 billion U.S. dollars of funds allocated annually for AIDS.

    "With the exception of Thailand, international donors fund the balance," Rao said.

    Although prevalence rates remain low across the region, rates of new infections are rising in a number of countries such as Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nepal and Bangladesh.

    "We need continued vigilance to ensure that HIV prevention and treatment are reaching people most at risk and most in need," said Rao, warning against complacency.

    Rao stated that achieving regional targets of Universal Access to HIV prevention, treatment and care demands a sharply defined multi-sectored government response and a revitalized civil society to confront legal and social barriers.

    While applauding harm reduction policies in Malaysia, China and India, revived prevention efforts in Thailand, and outreach to men who have sex with men in Cambodia, Rao stressed that stigma and discriminatory laws still poses serious obstacles in the region.

    Rao also expressed concern about the rise in political instability and conflict in many Asia Pacific countries that thwarts access to HIV prevention and treatment programs.

    "Apart from the direct toll of human lives, conflict also exacerbates existing problems of poverty and displaces thousands, making them more vulnerable to health related problems," Rao said.

    Concluding his speech, Rao called upon civil society groups -- including people living with HIV -- to continue and to increase pressure on governments to deliver concrete AIDS programs.

    According to the World Health Organization, between 2.8 and 9.8million people were living with HIV in Asia in 2006 and between 310,000 and 610,000 people became newly infected with the virus.