While the world’s overall GDP and GNI growth rates is 3.8 %, the countries of India, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand are growing much more quickly. India is growing at the rate of 9.2%, China at 10.7%, Vietnam at 8.2%, Malaysia at 5.9%, Indonesia at 6.1 %, and Thailand at 5.0% (World Bank 2006).

These swift economic changes have catalyzed broad changes in societies, from creating job opportunities for millions to increased cross-border migration. The on-set of globalization, coupled with changing fertility patterns and significant changes in lifestyles, social values and norms, have also created major demographic and epidemiologic transitions. These transitions will affect the region’s economic and social development.

The Countries in Rapid Economic Transition Working Group, co-convened by Myung-Hwan Cho, Konkuk University, South Korea, and Prasada Rao, UNAIDS, will seek to better understand the social and economic mobility factors, or “drivers”, that propel the AIDS epidemic in five countries experiencing rapid economic growth. The Working Group will explore the following questions:

• What are the broad trends of transition seen in these countries?
• How do these trends create risk environments for exacerbating the spread of HIV?
• What could happen in the next 25 years if the consequences of these emerging trends are ignored and business is carried on as usual?
• What opportunities exist to capitalize on the transitional trends for shaping future AIDS response?
• What potential roles could the “AIDS” agenda have in the social sector development of the five countries and the region?