AFAO's ICAAP11 highlights

One of many discussions at the AFAO booth.
More pix at afao.smugmug.com

AFAO representatives from our International Program and Sydney office joined the recent International Congress on AIDS in the Asia Pacific (ICAAP11) in Bangkok.

AFAO worked with our key partners Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM) and Asia Pacific Network of AIDS Service Organisations (APCASO) to jointly present a number of sessions, and also supported the participation of our partner in Papua New Guinea, Kapul Champions.

The right to health crucial to HIV advocacy

Michael Kirby and Anand Grover.

On the final day of the 11th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, the importance of human rights in the HIV response was highlighted in a session hosted by the Asia Pacific Council on AIDS Service Organisations (APCASO).

The Honorable Michael Kirby opened the session arguing the need for improved human rights protections for all vulnerable groups, including prisoners, migrants and refugees, which he drew from the 2012 Global Commission on HIV and the Law Report.

FOREPLAY - The final push towards three zeros

A series of community events was held across two days in the lead up to ICAAP11, to allow community delegates to come together and network, and to be discuss key issues related to HIV and key populations in Asia and the Pacific.

The first of these events was FOREPLAY, a one day community pre-conference hosted by APCOM on 17 November.

New publication puts focus on HIV in Asia and the Pacific

18 November 2013, Bangkok, Thailand - On the eve of this year's International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP11) - the largest HIV conference in the region -  two leading community HIV organisations, the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) and the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM) , have released a special edition of AFAO's flagship publication, HIV Australia, discussing HIV in Asia and the Pacific.

The special edition aims to create discussion around the significant human rights, HIV and funding gap issues for men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people. These issues include:

• Across the Asia Pacific region, rates of new infection have decreased among the general population but continue to grow among MSM and transgender populations.
• Young MSM are at particular risk. One study from Bangkok showed that over a 5-year period, 30% of the young men involved in the study became infected with HIV.
• Globally, transgender women are up to 48 times more likely to have HIV than other adults in the same population. Rates of HIV among transgender groups were: 43% in India, 26% in Indonesia and 12.5% in Thailand.