UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé met with President Boni Yayi of Bénin at the President’s Office in Cotonou on 20 February, pictured here with UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Representative Ms Nardos Bekele.
Credit: UNAIDS

In an official meeting with President Boni Yayi of Bénin on 20 February, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé called on the country’s Head of State to use his position and influence as President of the African Union to accelerate the HIV response across the continent.

“We are counting on you to help us push forward the HIV response in Africa,” said Mr Sidibé, in a meeting with President Yayi in Cotonou. “With your leadership, I know that Africa can achieve the targets in the 2011 Political Declaration on AIDS.”

Mr Sidibé urged President Yayi to encourage his peers to allocate a greater share of domestic resources to the AIDS response. The UNAIDS Executive Director and the President agreed on the need for a high-level debate on how to finance Africa’s AIDS response over the long term.

National progress

During the meeting, the UNAIDS Executive Director congratulated President Yayi and his government on achievements in the national response to HIV. 

According to government figures, HIV prevalence in Bénin has stabilized over the past decade at approximately 2%. An estimated 62 000 people are currently living with HIV across the country and there are some 3300 new HIV infections each year.

At the end of 2010, an estimated 19 000 people were accessing free antiretroviral treatment, up from about 15 000 the previous year.  Access to voluntary testing and counselling (VCT) is also expanding at a rapid rate: 126 sites across the country now offer VCT services, up from just 28 sites in 2006.

Mr Sidibé underscored the importance of using scare resources with greater efficiency, transparency and accountability. He emphasized the need to prioritize HIV resources for key affected populations—particularly women and girls, young people, sex workers,  men who have sex with men and people who use drugs.

Eliminating new infections among children

Despite progress, only half (49%) of pregnant women in Bénin have access to services that can prevent new HIV infections in their children. An estimated 350 000 children were newly infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa in 2010.

“As President of the African Union, I would like to launch a vibrant appeal to other African Heads of State, urging them to continue investing in programmes that can eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV,” said President Yayi. Following his meeting with Mr Sidibé, the President launched a national plan to eliminate new infections among children by 2015, at the Palais des Congrès in Cotonou.

During the mission, the UNAIDS Executive Director was honoured by Lord Chancellor Osseni Koubourath as a “Grand Officer” of the National Order of Bénin for his global leadership and engagement in the HIV response, and for his strong commitment to promoting human rights and dignity.

Mr Sidibé’s visit to Bénin was the first of a four-country mission in West Africa. He is scheduled to meet this week with high-level representatives from government and civil society in Togo, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.

The reduction in multiple sexual partnerships major significant cause of the decline in HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe.

An additional 70 000 Zimbabweans living with HIV will get access to anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment by the end of 2012, using the country’s National AIDS Trust Fund. This announcement by the Zimbabwe National AIDS Council is a welcome sign for a country that has some 1.2 million adults and children living with HIV in 2009.

The trust fund, also known as the AIDS Levy, was introduced in 1999 and became effective in January 2000. Resources for the fund are collected through a Parliament special tax act, which requires formal employers and their employees in Zimbabwe to contribute 3 per cent of their income.

Conceived in response to the HIV epidemic in the country and limited government funding, the trust fund has begun to show a unique and substantive result in provision of antiretroviral drugs.

“We are pleased to have this innovative fund that does not exist anywhere else in the region. It is a major player in the national AIDS response,” noted Dr. Tapuwa Magure, Chief Executive Officer of the National AIDS Council.

The AIDS Levy is considered a resourceful approach to ensure sustainability and reducing aid dependency in the national response to HIV.  “We are excited that other low income countries such as Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia are asking us how we are mobilizing resources through the fund,” said Dr. Magure. “It has been listed on the SADC’s best practice list!”

In 2011, the government collected US$26 million through the trust fund and this figure is expected to rise to US$30 million at the end of the current fiscal year. With the shift from using the Zimbabwe dollar to the US dollar, the fund started to show dramatic increases in 2009, generating US$5 million that year and US$20 million in 2010.

“These figures are a small but important contribution by the government and the tax payers to bridge the gap,” said Hon. Dr. Henry Madzorera, Minister of Health and Child Welfare.

According to the Minister Madzorera, half of the funds collected will be used to procure antiretroviral drugs while the other half will be spent to support other HIV-related activities, including prevention, coordination as well as communication and advocacy. The government expects the trust fund to grow as the economy recovers and more formal jobs are created in Zimbabwe. In the meantime, it is vital for international partners, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to keep their commitments to sustain Zimbabwe’s treatment programme.

“What we are raising from tax is a far cry from what we require to reach all of our people with treatment, which means we need significant support for the next five years,” added the Hon. Minister.

Despite a very high inflation rate and the decreasing external funding, Zimbabwe continues to make encouraging progress in providing access to ARVs for people living with HIV, including pregnant mothers. By the end of 2010, more than 325 000 people— about 59 per cent of those eligible—were receiving HIV treatment, up from only 24 500, or 7 %, in 2005.

“The National AIDS Trust Fund has been created and grown by the people of Zimbabwe to become one of the major funders of the national response,” said Ms. Tatiana Shoumilina, UNAIDS Country Coordinator for Zimbabwe. “It is an ultimate symbol of national ownership and a sustainable road towards achieving Zero new HIV infections, Zero discrimination and Zero AIDS-related deaths.”

GENEVA, 20 February 2012—The Government of the Republic of Bénin, in collaboration with UNAIDS, UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA and partners, today launched a national plan aimed at eliminating new HIV infections among children and improving the health of their mothers.

“This plan will contribute to satisfying the quality requirements for the care of pregnant women living with HIV, their children and their families,” said Bénin’s Minister of Health, Prof. Dorothée Kindé-Gazard, speaking today at an official ceremony in Cotonou hosted by the President of Bénin, Dr Thomas Yayi Boni. “It will make it possible to harmonize services that prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV throughout the country and to better coordinate the interventions.”

According to government estimates, approximately 62 000 people are living with HIV in Bénin. Between 2004 and 2011, the number of health facilities offering services that prevent new HIV infections in children expanded from 204 to 450. Despite progress, only about half (49%) of pregnant women eligible for HIV services are currently receiving them.

In June 2011, Bénin signed on to the Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive. As part of this effort, the national plan aims to ensure that all pregnant women living with HIV have access to HIV prevention and treatment services, and that new HIV infections among children are eliminated.

“I applaud the vision, commitment and will of Bénin’s political leadership—in particular the Minister of Health—to ensure that in the coming years, we will see that no child in Bénin is born with HIV and that all mothers remain healthy and alive,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé, who also attended today’s ceremony.

The expected impact of the plan for the period 2012 to 2015:

1. A 90% reduction in the number of new HIV infections among children.
2. A 90% reduction in the number of AIDS-related deaths among children.
3. A 50% reduction in the number of AIDS-related deaths among mothers in the
   12-month post-partum period.

A number of strategies will be employed to reach these goals, such as: ensuring access to comprehensive services that prevent new HIV infections among children at all maternity hospitals across the country; ensuring access to treatment for all pregnant women who are eligible for antiretroviral therapy; expanding access to voluntary HIV testing and counselling; strengthening access to male and female condoms, especially among young people; and public advocacy campaigns.

As Libya celebrates the first anniversary of the 17 February revolution, UNAIDS together with the governing National Transitional Council are putting the building blocks in place to rejuvenate the country’s AIDS response.  

Following UNAIDS Executive Director meeting with the Libyan Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Adel M. Abushoffa, a short term plan has been set up for the country’s AIDS response. The foundation has also been laid to the development of a comprehensive national strategic plan on AIDS.

In collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNAIDS is providing technical guidance to the government through a resident UNAIDS Senior Advisor to monitor the HIV epidemic, identify priorities and together with the government identify the main gaps in the response.

In the short term, the Libya has requested UNAIDS to support the procurement of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment drugs for around 3000 people living with HIV while working in parallel to reestablish the ARV supply and procurement system that has been interrupted for more than six months. The ARVs are now being shipped to the country.

UNAIDS is taking the lead in coordinating the UN system’s response to AIDS in Libya and new partnerships have been established with key donors such as the European Commission.

Some of the critical long term issues that need attention include strengthening the human resource base of the health system and ensuring that healthcare workers have the skills to provide HIV prevention and treatment services.

The AIDS response also has to focus on reducing stigma and discrimination, especially by health workers, decentralization of HIV-related services, reaching people at increased risk of HIV such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs as well as migrants and displaced people. The long term national strategic plan will focus on building the capacity of civil society organizations to implement HIV prevention outreach programmes.

As a first step to developing evidence informed AIDS response, Libya, in collaboration with WHO and UNAIDS, is strengthening its HIV surveillance system. Information about the epidemiological situation in Libya is sparse, yet preliminary assessments indicate a severe epidemic among people who inject drugs as well as anecdotal information about HIV infection among sex workers and sex trade on migration routes in the south of the country.  

WHO recommendations related to use of hormonal contraceptives remain unchanged. The use of condoms—male and female—is a reliable method of HIV prevention.

GENEVA, 16 February 2012—A stakeholder consultation convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva has reviewed recent epidemiological studies related to HIV transmission and acquisition by women using hormonal contraceptives. After careful review of all available evidence, the stakeholders found that the data were not sufficiently conclusive to change current guidance.

In light of this review, WHO today announced that its current recommendation­­—no restrictions on the use of hormonal contraceptives to avoid unintended pregnancies—remains unchanged. They also recommend that women using progestogen-only injectable contraceptives also use condoms or other measures to prevent HIV infection. This information must be communicated to sexually active women and girls by health workers pro-actively.

About half of the 34 million people living with HIV are women. In sub-Saharan Africa, the region most affected by the epidemic, nearly 60% of all new HIV infections occur in women.

The level of unmet family planning need among the 1.18 billion women aged 15–49 worldwide is estimated to be 11%. Among the 128 million women (married or in a union) aged 15–49 in sub-Saharan Africa, the estimated unmet need for family planning is more than twice as high, at 25%. This highlights the urgency of finding innovative solutions that address the dual needs of women in preventing HIV and stopping unintended pregnancies.

While a range of contraceptives protect against unintended pregnancies, only condoms, male and female, provide dual protection by stopping HIV transmission and preventing unintended pregnancies.  

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) recommends that people who are sexually active—particularly women and girls—have full access to information and counselling to make evidence informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health needs. Women and girls must also have access to the widest range of contraceptive and HIV prevention options. Such services must be provided in an integrated manner by health workers.

The lack of female controlled methods of HIV prevention and low levels of condom use place women and girls at increased vulnerability to HIV infection. “Women need safe contraceptive and HIV prevention options that they can own and manage,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “New investments into research for female controlled HIV prevention options and safe contraceptive methods are essential.”

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé (centre) speaking at the consultation on the criminalisation of non-disclosure, exposure or transmission of HIV. Oslo, Norway, 14 February 2012.
Credit: UNAIDS

The Nordic countries have reiterated their commitment to HIV and to doing their part to help countries reach the ambitious targets set out by United Nations Member States in the 2011 Political Declaration on AIDS.

Their strong support was heard by the Executive Director of UNAIDS Michel Sidibé during a working meeting with range of health and development partners from the Nordic countries to discuss greater collaboration in moving the AIDS agenda forward.

The meeting was part of a two-day visit to Sweden and Norway by the Executive Director of UNAIDS which began in the Swedish capital of Stockholm. During the discussions, health and development representatives from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden talked about the importance of human rights, HIV services for young people, and shared responsibility responding to HIV.

“The Nordic countries have been global leaders in areas of human rights and women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights and they continue to be strong partners in the shared responsibility agenda,” said Mr Sidibé. “Their support, particularly as low- and middle- income countries look at ways of reversing the AIDS dependency crisis, remains vital to the success of the global AIDS response.”

Mr Sidibé discussed in detail Sweden’s policy priorities––which include addressing the needs of people most at risk of infection and ensuring human rights and gender equality––during a meeting with Sweden’s Minister for Development Cooperation Ms Gunilla Carlsson.

The Minister underscored the importance of seeking new paradigms for development cooperation that build on accountability and shared responsibility. She also welcomed UNAIDS’ efforts to address the AIDS dependency crisis and highlighted the UNAIDS investment framework as an important tool in a new phase of development cooperation.

Civil society groups and parliamentarians in Sweden met with the Executive Director of UNAIDS and spoke about the importance of UNAIDS’ work in protecting the rights of people most at risk of HIV and ensuring equity in access to HIV services.

A major focus of the Norway leg of the visit was a consultation on the criminalisation of non-disclosure, exposure or transmission of HIV. The meeting brought together policy makers, government officials, members of the judicial system, civil society and people living with HIV from around the world to ensure that legal systems globally are informed by accurate scientific information and a respect for human rights. The aim of the consultation was to promote better understanding of the issues and share best practices relating to the use of criminal law and protection of human rights.

This theme was carried through in a meeting between UNAIDS Executive Director and the Minister for the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim.

First Lady of Gabon Sylvia Bongo Ondimba with Pelé during the “CAN without AIDS” campaign event.
Credit: Josh Ponte & David Ignaszewski

On 10 February 2012, Brazilian football legend Pelé took thousands of young people by storm during a beach soccer tournament organized in Gabon alongside the 2012 Coupe d’Afrique des Nations (or “CAN”). After the tournament, “O Rei” Pele joined President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon and the First Lady at a beach event organized as part of the “CAN without AIDS” campaign. 

The campaign, launched by the Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Foundation—a charitable organization run by Gabon’s First Lady—uses sports as a platform to reach millions of people with messages on HIV prevention across Africa, particularly youth. The campaign received support from UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé as well as Cameroonian football star Samuel Eto’o and Didier Ovono, captain of Gabon’s national football team.

The beach tournament brought together more than 400 young Gabonese to kick off the last round of the youth-focused AIDS campaign events. Pelé greeted the cheering crowds who were wearing T-shirts with HIV prevention messages.

The host of the event elaborated on the UNAIDS vision of “three zeroes”—Zero new HIV infections, Zero discrimination and Zero AIDS-related deaths—while volunteers were distributing condoms and information on HIV. Gabon has an HIV prevalence of 3.5% among young women aged 15 to 24 and 1.4% among young men of the same age.

“I am ever grateful to the First Lady for her leadership in bringing together national authorities, celebrities and young people to share HIV prevention messages through sport,” said Salvator Niyonzima, UNAIDS Country Coordinator. “UNAIDS will continue to work with the First Lady’s Foundation beyond the CAN 2012 tournament to make the “three zeroes” vision a reality in Gabon,” he added.

First Lady of Gabon Sylvia Bongo Ondimba and young people doing the “three zeroes” sign.
Credit: Josh Ponte & David Ignaszewski

Winners of the tournament were rewarded with front seats at the final of the 2012 African cup, where the president of Gabon had unveiled a statue representing Pelé's bust and dedicated it to him.

Timed with the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, the “CAN without AIDS” campaign reached more than 43 000 local people, of which more than 1000 took free HIV screening tests. The campaign will now focus, with support from UNAIDS, on the national HIV response in Gabon, with each quarter of the year dedicated to one of the “three zeroes.”

Representatives from the community of people living with HIV and key populations most at risk urge governments in Asia and the Pacific to work with them to reach global AIDS targets and commitments.
Credit: UN ESCAP

Dressed in a striking blue and red shalwar kameez (traditional dress from South and Central Asia), Akkai, a transgender woman from Bangladesh, steps onto the stage. Turning to her audience of government officials from Ministries of health, justice, public security, drug control, social protection; United Nations officials; and fellow members of key populations most affected by HIV, she started to sing:

“I born as me/ My feelings changed… / I started behaving like a girl / I started walking like a girl / I started dressing as a girl / When my parents forced me to stop myself /  I was beaten up / I was locked up / I was tortured…./ …There was nobody to ask these things / … / This kind of torture, violence, harassment /  Is not faced only by me / Where to live?/ Where to share?/ Where to survive our life?”

Joining the scene, the coordinator of the Women’s arm of the Asia-Pacific Network of people living with HIV explained: “I have been living with HIV for 17 years. Fortunately I have had access to treatment. But now free-trade agreements are compromising access to essential medicines,” she said. “Eighty percent of generic medicines are made in this region. Without access to affordable medicines we cannot get to zero,” she added.

These personal experiences were two of many shared by people living with HIV and key affected populations at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) high-level intergovernmental meeting held in Bangkok, Thailand from 6-8 February 2012. The meeting was an opportunity to review the region’s progress towards international targets on AIDS.

“For the first time in history we have the possibility to end AIDS and Asia-Pacific nations have shown we can lead the world in making an impact. But we cannot ignore the challenges our region faces and how these can jeopardize our ability to progress,” H.E. Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, President of Fiji, who underlined his long-term commitment and leadership on HIV as Chair of the high-level talks.

Representatives from the most-affected communities urged government delegations from Asia-Pacific nations to recognize the existing challenges in accessing HIV services posed by punitive laws and practices, threats to continued availability of HIV treatment and widespread stigma and discrimination. They also called upon governments to work increasingly with communities to ramp-up action to reach HIV goals.

The call to action was heard. By the end of the three-day talks, co-convened by UNAIDS and other UN partners, the nations present endorsed a framework to fast-track regional action on AIDS towards the achievement of global targets and commitments by 2015. Countries agreed to create ‘spaces’ for key affected communities—including people who use drugs, men who have sex with men, people who buy and sell sex, and transgender people—to be involved in the development of practical solutions to legal impediments and HIV service scale-up at the policy and programmatic level.

“It was recognized here that we have to find new ways to reach the maximum amount of people in the short time we have before 2015,” said UNAIDS Director of the Asia-Pacific Regional Support Team, Steven Kraus. “And there is no question; this must be done hand-in-hand with the community.”

Akkai, a transgender woman from Bangladesh, sings about the stigma and discrimination she faces.
Credit: UN ESCAP

In recent years, Asia and the Pacific has experienced significant progress in reduction of new HIV infections, increase on numbers of people receiving antiretroviral treatment and expansion of programmes to reach key populations most at risk.

Examples given by a number of countries at the Bangkok talks illustrated that scaled up HIV services coupled with intensive engagement of key affected populations, have led to declining epidemics. In Thailand for example, the transgender people-led initiative “Sisters”, which provides social services and support to transgender people in the Pattaya area reports that HIV incidence fell from 12 to 8% among people using its services in the last 5 years.

With such examples of progress, the importance of developing the next generation of community leaders is a central regional priority. The new Asia-Pacific framework for accelerated action underlines that young people from key affected populations must be heard, heeded, and have space at the policy and programme tables.

Emphasizing the readiness of young people most affected by HIV to take on a leadership role in the region’s future HIV response, Coordinator of Youth LEAD, the regional network for young HIV key affected populations, Thaw Zin Aye said: “Young people are taking ownership of the AIDS response and we are committed to carrying on the legacy. We urge governments to continue taking action with us.”

The endorsed regional framework emphasizes the need to share good practices and lessons learned in implementing the measures and commitments related to HIV. Asia-Pacific countries also requested UN ESCAP, UNAIDS and other cosponsors to support implementation of the road map.

CCTV News anchor and UNAIDS national Goodwill Ambassador James Chau during the World AIDS Day 2011 commemoration in Sydney.
Credit: UNAIDS

For a second consecutive year, China Central Television has awarded its annual prize to CCTV News anchor and UNAIDS national Goodwill Ambassador James Chau for his outstanding journalistic reporting in 2011.

Over the past 12 months, Mr Chau reported on key global events such as the political changes in the Middle East and North Africa, the Norway killings and development issues like the Durban Climate Change Conference, the 2011 High Level Meeting on AIDS and the Youth Summit on HIV/AIDS.

“I congratulate Mr Chau on receiving this award that acknowledges his integrity in news reporting,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. “Mr Chau has also been a tireless advocate highlighting the global AIDS issues during his participation in a number of international fora.”

The first UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador to be appointed on the Chinese Mainland, Mr Chau uses his television and digital media platforms to help support the rights of people living with HIV. On World AIDS Day 2011, Mr Chau joined the Governor-General of Australia and the Australian HIV Partnership in lighting the Sydney Opera House—the first of dozens of iconic landmarks around the world to turn red to raise awareness on the Getting to Zero campaign.

CCTV News is the international division of China Central Television and airs globally 24 hours a day from its broadcast centers in Beijing, Nairobi and Washington, DC. Together with the network’s other channels, it reaches the country’s 1.3 billion population and a large international audience.

24-year old Ayu Oktariani from Indonesia who is living with HIV is part of the Youth LEAD network for key affected populations.
Credit: UNAIDS

When Palitha Wijebandara from Sri Lanka found out he had tested positive for HIV, he was shocked and confused. He had been tested as part of a company policy at his work, without his specific consent or proper counseling, and he did not understand the implications of his test result.

Palitha is one of many thousands of people in Asia and the Pacific who have faced the challenge of discovering their HIV status in their youth. At only 23 years old, he was alone. He did not know how to face his family. He feared discovery of his status and of the fact that he had been having relations with other men.

In Asia and the Pacific, evidence indicates that 95% of all new HIV infections in young people in the region are among young people from key affected populations—young people who buy and sell sex, young men who have sex with men, young transgender persons and adolescent drug users.

Specific data on young people at higher risk of HIV in the region is sparse. But estimates that do exist give cause for concern. In some Asian countries, three out of five female sex workers, and almost half of all men who have sex with men, are younger than 25 years. In the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 82% of sex workers are in that age group. In Nepal, half of all people who inject drugs start injecting in their late adolescence, when they are between 15 and 21 years old. By the time someone has been injecting for a year, there is a 33% chance that they will have acquired HIV.

Multiple challenges

Despite high vulnerability to HIV infection, young people at higher risk find it difficult to obtain information on HIV, sterile injecting equipment, or other services such as HIV testing and support. Across Asia-Pacific, programmes focusing specifically on young people most at risk are often scarce.

“Prevention campaigns don’t reach out to young female sex workers as often we do not come out to access the information, and if we do, it doesn’t speak to us,” said Ms Fulmaya*, a young sex worker from Nepal.

“As a young gay man, some things are hard to say openly and you worry that if you say those things, people will discriminate against you. The first time I wanted to get an HIV test, I had no idea where to get it and I was too scared to go to the hospital,” said Xiao Chen*, 21, from China.

Stigma, the criminalization of certain behaviours and other legal hindrances mean that young people from key populations at higher risk are often difficult to reach. In many countries, taking an HIV test, going on HIV treatment, or using reproductive health or harm-reduction services requires the consent of a parent or guardian.

“I can’t get the free HIV test because I don’t want my mother to know what I’m doing and so I cannot provide the clinic with parental consent. All I want is to know my HIV status,” said Bugoi a transgender sex worker from the Philippines.

Many adolescents find sexually transmitted infection clinics and HIV clinics intimidating, and feel uncomfortable talking about personal issues with clinical staff who are much older than them, and who can be judgmental. Harm-reduction programmes for drug users generally focus on male adults, despite statistics that show some young drug users start injecting as early as 12 years old and the fact that young women also need services.

“I have heard of organizations that give out needles but many are far and they only target the boys,” explained Payal, an 18 year old woman from Nepawho uses drugs.

An often-expressed frustration of young people from key populations at higher risk in Asia is that they often feel they are robbed of the voice to describe, discuss and alter their realities.

“Young people have plenty to say, but their voices aren’t heard. I think if people paid more attention to HIV and strengthened the voice of the community a bit, more people would learn about HIV and understand the issues and what we need,” Xiao Chen* said.

Time to lead

Some significant action is being taken to bring the voice of young key affected populations to the foreground –organizations and networks of young people from key populations at higher risk are gradually becoming strengthened.

Sri Lankan Palitha Wijebandara, who discovered his status through an unauthorized HIV test, drew strength from his involvement in peer support and, recently, from his efforts to promote the rights of young people from key populations at risk through Youth LEAD. This Asia Pacific regional network set up in 2010 is helping develop youth leadership in key populations at higher risk to strengthen their involvement in community, national and regional programmes. Representatives from Youth LEAD and other youth at risk organizations are increasingly being able to take their place at the table in regional policy arenas and debates.

From 6-8 February in Bangkok, Thailand, the need for increased focus on and involvement of young people from key affected populations in the Asia-Pacific AIDS response is one of the central areas of discussion at a high-level United Nations meeting. Young people from key affected populations are joining government leaders and senior officials from across Ministries of health, justice, law enforcement, social development and drug control agencies as well as their older civil society counterparts from key affected populations and people living with HIV to address legal and policy barriers that impede access to HIV services in the region.

According to UNAIDS Director of the Regional Support Team for Asia and the Pacific, Steve Kraus, the regional UN gathering on AIDS provides the ideal opportunity for young people from key communities to “Be loud, be heard and be honest about the critical things you need to make Getting to Zero a reality in this region.”

For 24-year old Ayu Oktariani from Indonesia who is living with HIV, and participating in the Bangkok meeting with Youth LEAD, the message is simple: “We need to be empowered and supported so that we can take ownership of AIDS. We are here to say please include us, listen to us, work with us and together we can achieve great things.”

 A longer version of this feature first appeared in the UNAIDS publication: HIV in Asia and the Pacific - Getting to Zero, August 2011.

* Some names have been changed on request to protect the identities of the interviewees