Firm resolve to combat AIDS in the region

8th ICAAP in Colombo:

by Indeewara Thilakarathne

Eight International Congress on AIDS in Asia and Pacific (8th ICAAP) concluded on a positive note of renewing concerted effort to combat AIDS in the region which is home to 60% of the world population. The 9th ICAAP will be held in the resort island of Bali in 2009.

The Congress was made up of highly fruitful sessions and diverse academic workshops which united major stakeholders in the combat of AIDS in the region. The presence of large number of journalists across the region, academics, members of the civil society and activist helped to make the congress successful, highlighting the gray areas in the continuous fight against AIDS in the region.

The five day long congress identified major issues such as gender inequality, stigma, sexual minorities (Men who have sex with Men, MSM) and use of injection by drug addicts as areas of priority in combating AIDS in the region.

Social stigma and discrimination against People living with HIV/AIDS have been cited as major challenges in combating AIDS. One of the outstanding stories of social stigma and discrimination was that of Anandi Yuvaraja of the Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) in India.

Anandi's story was change of social attitude through open acceptance of her HIV status. In one of the sessions Xu Jie who spoke on consulting community in addressing issues of Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) community in China, pointed out some of the strategies of Chinese government engaging in MSM community as partners in AIDS programme.

In the same session, Jane Koerner described about the situation of MSM community in central Japan. The MSM community gets little funds as a result of their not being mobilized in the area where homo sexuality is largely invisible in society. Islands of Fiji have been cited as one of the first waves of hope in fighting HIV related stigma and discrimination in the pacific.

One of the significant features of the Colombo congress was the participation of large number of people living with HIV/AIDS, some of them participated as panelists, sharing fears and hopes in combating discrimination against people living with AIDS.

During a workshop on reporting HIV/AIDS, it has been pointed out that demonising the disease and using some of the key words such as killer disease would, in fact, insensitise the disease.

Partnership with HIV positives at all levels, prioritising HIV as hot beat, are some of the measures that media can take in educating and changing social attitude regarding combating discrimination against HIV positives and people living with AIDS.

It has also been pointed out that the word 'Victim' should not be used for people living with HIV and AIDS as it contributes to create an erroneous perception on HIV positives.

It will convey a perception of very weak persons who are constantly suffering from various ailments because they are infected with HIV and living with AIDS. In fact, HIV positives are as vibrant as any other member of the society and HIV should be treated as any other illness, emphasized HIP positive delegates at the session.

Injecting drug users has also been cited as a major factor contributing to the spread of AIDS in the region. Though injection has not widely been used among drug users in Sri Lanka, if they have shifted to injection method, it would pose a serious health threat.

"This denial is criminal", said Ananda Grover from the Lawyers Collective, India highlighting the right of injecting drug users to treatment, although the paper was titled Oral Substitution Treatment in SAARC countries-Legal Barriers and Legal Solution.

He pointed out that denial of treatment to drug dependents is rooted in the criminalisation of the drug use and the treatment for drug is guided not by clinical outcomes but legal control. Deputy Executive Director (Programme) of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Purnima Mane stressed the fact that HIV and sexual reproductive health should be linked to increase the universal access to prevention and treatment of HIV.

Providing primary HIV prevention, family planning and life-long treatment in MTCT programmes, reducing HIV vulnerability caused by early-age marriages and gender-based violence, normalizing condom use within the sexual relationships, addressing the sexual reproductive health of people living with HIV, eliminating human rights violations have been cited as six crucial areas providing opportunities for linking HIV and sexual reproductive health.

On the whole, participants and delegates, especially academics and activists expressed that the Colombo congress provided them to share their experiences in their respective areas of expertise in addition to strengthening networking among the academics and activists across the region.

However, Caitlin L. Chandler, Project Officer of GYCA (Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS) pointed out lack of youth participation as one of the weakness of the Congress and that the participation of people living with HIV should have been more meaningful than merely sitting on as panelists.

French national Virginie, a worker attached to ESTHER was of the opinion that the Congress was successful in many ways and she enjoyed the stay in Colombo, sharing her experience with like-minded participants across the region.

The 8th ICAAP ended with firm resolution to fight against AIDS with renewed vigor and that low prevalence was not a cause for complacency.

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Colombo declaration

The participants of the 8th ICAAP (8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and Pacific) at the conclusion of the conference resolved;

Low prevalence countries must maintain their status by : Recognizing that the low prevelence could change quickly through complacency.

Leadership provided by Government to address AIDS as a development issue Development partners not treating low prevalence countries as priority ones and continuing to give priority to their needs and technical support. Employing civil society and people living with HIV/AIDS Employing focused strategies for prevention.

Voluntary Counselling and Testing for HIV should be promoted by removing barriers to Universal Access because treatment is available Government and policy makers must move beyond rhetoric to effect change by taking action against poverty, gender inequality, social marginalisation of venerable groups and stigmatisation.

Government recognises the right and listens to voices of women. Government must meet the potential epidemic squarely by addressing the challenges posed by Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT), Sexual and Reproductive Health education (SRH), Child Marriage and Gender Based Violence. Government must stop treating drug use as criminal offense rather than a public health issue.