A higher majority of the HIV-infected feel that migration was the main factor leading their HIV-vulnerability and better access for information and services could have helped to protect them, quotes a study by UNDP with PLWHA groups in Asia Pacific region.

The link between migration and HIV is emerging stronger than ever before. About 67 per cent of the people affected by HIV, who participated in the study, said that migration was the main factor leading their HIV-vulnerability.

Nowadays, South Asia is known for providing shelter for the second largest number HIV-affected people. Out of the 7.2 million people living with AIDS in Asia Pacific, more than 5 million are from South Asia. Within the region, India accounted for half of a million new infections in 2003.

According to the study, HIV is a manifestation of the inequalities and deprivation faced by migrants. Hostile and lonely environments, separation from families, lack of access to information and services and social support systems can lead to social and sexual practices that make them more susceptible to HIV exposure.

An area of concern is the spread of the infection from high to low prevalence areas and also emergence of new pockets of high prevalence. In this context, migrants become the medium through which the virus transmits itself. Many migrants return to the source areas and such visits can be considered as possible route of HIV transmission to their spouses, partners and host community.

An important step would be to empower potential migrants with information and services that make migration safer, free from exploitation and situations that make them vulnerable to HIV at source, transit and destination areas. There is an increasing need for treatment and care at the destination and source areas. Voluntary counseling and testing services, treatment for opportunistic infections and referral for antiretroviral treatment are the elements that should form part of a comprehensive treatment and care plan, the study reveals.