Some 250 delegates are attending a three-day meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam to discuss ways of stemming the disease among youth, as well as helping children who are infected and orphaned by AIDS.
The Associated Press reports that children are often overlooked as more attention is paid to adults who are afflicted with HIV/AIDS.
Hans Troedsson, World Health Organization representative in Vietnam, says, "While we have made impressive efforts at achieving results to tackle this epidemic ... we seem to be leaving some people behind."
He adds, "If there were some tendency that we leave the children behind in these global efforts, that would not only be unfortunate, it would be unacceptable."
The latest UNAIDS figures show that about 121,000 children in Asia and the Pacific have contracted HIV/AIDS. An additional 35,000 need anti-retroviral drugs in order to survive.
