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GUEST COLUMN |
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“Leaders
speak out…”
Dr. Nafis Sadik |
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THE HIV/AIDS response in Asia
Pacific has gained real momentum over the last year and
a half. We have seen a change in the attitude of leaders
in the region. It seems to me that there is an increasing
acceptance that there is a problem, which needs to be
addressed, and it is no longer enough just to look at
HIV in terms of vulnerable groups.
However, this is not enough and we still need leaders
to speak out more, and more loudly, about the HIV/AIDS
epidemic. It is a difficult issue to talk about, but leadership
at all levels needs to overcome their reluctance if a
serious impact on this epidemic is to be made. |
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| As the UN Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS,
my role is to convince leaders to speak out. I want to support
leaders across the region to identify the issues that need attention
and to address these. For instance, the issue of vulnerability
of women and girls - an issue, for which I have a special passion
- in this region, where arranged marriage is very common. We
face unique challenges in addressing the vulnerability of women
to HIV. We need to ask, how do we address women's needs? How
do we protect them? |
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I want to encourage the leadership
across Asia Pacific to look seriously at the needs of the most
marginalised and most vulnerable groups - Men who have sex with
Men (MSM), sex workers, intravenous drug users (IDU), and others.
Even though in many countries the activities of these groups
are illegal, we cannot ignore them. I am pleased to say that
governments are increasingly recognising that these groups need
support. However, in many cases it remains difficult for NGOs
and others to reach out to them. Therefore, I believe that we
do need to look seriously at decriminalisation, in order to
draw these groups into the HIV response. |
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| Stigma and discrimination are very serious problems
across our region. An issue of great concern is getting PLWHA
voices heard at the policy level and within planning processes.
The valuable contribution of PLWHA is being recognised to some
extent, but they have not yet been given a full and active role. |
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| Recently, we have seen a lot of press reporting
around the world on access to treatment. But we need to be sure
that we are not giving people the wrong impression about what
is possible, and that we build an understanding that treatment
and prevention must go together in a holistic programme. Many
countries in Asia, as elsewhere, are now embarking on providing
anti retroviral treatment to PLWHA in a serious way. This is
a welcome move. But my role is to advise governments that any
care or treatment must be part of larger prevention programmes.
Providing treatment is not easy, and leaders should not present
it as easy. There are significant cost implications; need of
establishing health care infrastructures instituting good counselling
and testing facilitates; and support for drug adherence. Leaders
need to understand the complexity of treatment issues. |
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| At the country level, my role is to advise governments and
others on particular issues of national concern. For example,
in India there is a need to focus more on condoms and condom
promotion, and I am happy that there is an increasing move in
that direction. My work is also to support the achievement of
the 6th HIV/AIDS Millennium Development Goal, and to help countries
measure and evaluate their progress towards this goal. |
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| It is good to see that resources are coming into the region.
We need to support countries to implement their programmes and
use these resources effectively. This means improving international
coordination to ensure that we do not place a burden on countries
in administering international support. I am hopeful that with
these increased resources, coordination and leadership, we will
see some real results here in Asia Pacific. |
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About
the Author |
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