From 2000 to 2002, the Asia-Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (APN+) trained nearly 50 HIV-positive people in four countries (India, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand) to go into the field and collect data, funded by UNAIDS. The result was the “Aids Discrimination in Asia” report.
The findings are the first systematic documentation of the extent of discrimination in the region. The APN+ study findings confirm observations made in various countries: instances of discrimination are common and widespread. By far, the major area of discrimination in each country occurred within the health sector – 54 percent of respondents experienced some form of discrimination there. This discrimination often commenced before the person knew they were HIV-positive, at the point of testing.
To mount an effective response to the epidemic, governments need to deal with stigma and discrimination, and build partnerships with the HIV-positive community. The inclusion of HIV-positive people has been the catalyst needed to kick-start prevention programmes in many countries, and they are an invaluable resource when dealing with the challenges the epidemic poses.
Political will, teamed with adequate resources, is the key ingredient to a successful response to the epidemic as shown in Thailand, China and Cambodia. The response following this political will has to be multi-sectoral – governments cannot hope to cope with the epidemic alone and need the support of civil society, grass-roots organisation and private enterprise.
It has been shown time and again that to tackle the epidemic effectively, treatment and prevention need to go hand-in-hand. Once this framework is in place, programmes that follow can make an impact. Healthcare infrastructures must be put in place to provide treatment and other healthcare delivery services.
In tandem with this, prevention programmes also need to be scaled up. The billion dollar question is: Will some countries in Asia suffer the same fate as those in sub-Saharan Africa, reversing developmental progress and sinking more into despair or can the region make a difference and reverse the trend by stemming the rates of infection while providing care and support for a growing population of HIV-infected individuals?
Only time will tell, but meanwhile, scientists, governments, social activists and HIV-positive people soldier on, confronting an enemy that cannot be seen by the naked eye, as more succumb to the deadly disease with each passing day.
