"Stigma and discrimination are indeed problem areas in tackling HIV/Aids in India," said Nafis Sadik, special envoy of the UN secretary general for HIV/Aids in Asia and the Pacific.

"There is acceptance of the problem at the highest level, although lots needs to be done to make it (the disease) acceptable in the society which is still in a denial mode," Sadik told journalists.

"The epidemic is spreading rapidly to the general population by way of transmission from infected parents to the infants and from spouses to young married women," Sadik said.

According to the UN envoy, Asian migrant workers are highly vulnerable to HIV with most of them sexually abused and many end up becoming sex workers.

"Nearly 10% of the people in the Philippines are migrant workers of whom nearly 60% are women working as domestic help and doing odd jobs in the Gulf and other countries. Nearly 23% of the migrants who have returned home were found to be HIV positive and this is a real big problem," she said.

Sadik urged the states to be "a lot more vigilant" to check the spread of HIV/Aids among migrant workers. "You have people from Nepal coming to India and there is also some linkage between these workers and HIV/Aids," she warned.

The UN official cautioned that human trafficking was a much bigger problem than drug trade. "Human trafficking is a huge issue as many of them are used as sex workers."

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