End Discrimination Against People at Greatest Risk, UNFPA Stresses at Asian AIDS Congress

NUSA DUA, Indonesia – Ending discrimination and violence against those at greatest risk of HIV infection is critical to halting AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, UNFPA Deputy Executive Director (Programme) Purnima Mane stressed today at a regional gathering here.

Speaking at the 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) in Bali, Ms. Mane said HIV prevention efforts need to focus on these vulnerable groups, which are marginalized and account for most new infections in the region.

“An absolutely necessary first step” in responding more effectively to the epidemic “is to ensure legal protection for populations that engage in high-risk behaviours”’ she said.

More than 3,000 delegates – activists, researchers, health workers and officials from throughout the region – are taking part in the four-day conference, which Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono opened on Sunday.

Ms. Mane’s remarks, in a symposium on universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, echoed the words of UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé, read at the opening ceremony: “We must transform the AIDS response in Asia so that it works for people — especially for people who have been marginalized and without a voice."

Laws protecting those at greatest risk are key to reaching them with essential information and services; there must be an end to police harassment and violence, poor treatment by health service providers and social exclusion, Ms. Mane said. More resources are also needed, but prevention programmes for these groups are very cost-effective, she added.

Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria also addressed the legal issue: “How can we scale up harm reduction in the region when drug use carries the death penalty in 10 countries, and when same sex relations are illegal in 12 countries?”

UNFPA has co-organized several sessions at ICAAP, including panels on most-at-risk young people, linking HIV and sexual reproductive health, and involving men in combating sexual violence. The Fund also supported pre-conference community forums involving young people and religious leaders, among others.

Young people between 10 and 24 account for half of all new HIV infections in Asia and the Pacific, and 95 per cent of these occur among those who engage in high-risk behaviour, Ms. Mane noted in the session on young people.

“The most marginalized among young people [need to] be brought to the centre of our attention in HIV prevention,” she said. “The main problem is that we are not reaching most-at-risk young people with age-appropriate and youth-sensitive messages, services and programmes.”

“If we want prevention to work for young people,” she added, “it has to be by young people and with young people.”

Contact Information:

William A. Ryan,
Tel:  +66 89 897 6984
ryanw@unfpa.org