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 Brett Hayhoe reports from the 17th International AIDS Conference.
IMAGE: Dr Jorge Saavedra, Head of Mexico’s National HIV/AIDS Programme, displays a photo of his husband, Fernando, after publically coming out in an impassioned speech at the International AIDS Conference.
Held in history-rich Mexico City, from August 3 - 8, the 17th International AIDS Conference (IAC) was the second-largest such event ever held in the world.
Attending the first conference of its kind to be held in Latin America were some 25,000 AIDS activists, health care workers, doctors, sector leaders and workers, positive people, and media from around the globe. The conference theme, ‘Universal Action Now’ affirmed that it is only through individual and collective action that we’ll reach the goals of ensuring universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010; and eliminate HIV stigma and discrimination. ‘Universal Action Now’ is also an important reminder that the HIV/AIDS pandemic does not exist in a vacuum, and that the fight for equal human rights is well from being over.
A clear message was also given throughout the conference’s five days that the involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in areas of prevention, education, care and support were vital to the success of reducing transmissions; and that PLWHA should be strongly represented at every level of the response to the pandemic.
A total of 166 delegates from Australia, 59 from Papua New Guinea, and a further 20 from New Zealand participated in the conference’s opening and closing ceremonies, the daily opening plenary sessions, and dozens of simultaneously-run sessions and skills-building workshops.
This year’s conference had a very clear focus on Africa and Europe, with little mention made to Australia. One could read our country’s absence from discussion as a compliment, attributable to the fact that Australians have access to treatments, a high level of care and support for PWLHA, and reasonably good prevention methods in place. And while criminalization around HIV does exist, it’s not as bad as it could be.
The main focus was on youth, women and childbirth, men who have sex with men (both gay-identifying and non-gay-identifying), sex workers, and injecting drug users. Discussions were concentrated on the severe lack of access to treatments in many countries around the world; the stigma and discrimination that still occurs due to a person’s sexuality or HIV status; poor education and the resultant difficulties this can cause with prevention interventions; and the way in which ludicrous criminalisation laws have entered even African countries, resulting in injustice after mind-numbing injustice occurring.
It’s a timely reminder for Australia’s law makers that the addition of specific HIV clauses into already efficient and applicable laws is both superfluous and discriminatory.
Criminalisation does nothing to reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS in any community. It only exacerbates the situation by reducing people’s willingness to be tested (they would prefer not to know) and therefore leading to be a higher risk of the virus being spread. It results in a bigger burden on the health system, whereby people become unhealthy through the lack of proper treatment; and it arrests the tendency for disclosure, for fear of retribution, sending HIV back into the closet where it was many years ago.
In my opinion, the moment HIV/AIDS becomes invisible, infection and death rates will skyrocket to levels not seen since the early 1980s. This surely is something no government wants.
The conference also marked the first time a plenary speech was given on men who have sex with men; and another on female, male and transgender sex workers. Both speeches received rousing applause, as the presenters seized the opportunity to deliver their message to the world.
On behalf of sex workers, Elena Reynaga reminded delegates that critical factors in reducing HIV infection among sex workers include fighting stigma and discrimination by decriminalizing sex work (and recognising sex work as work), ending police violence, and sensitising the media. Sex workers are dying due to a lack of adequate health services and access to condoms, HIV treatment and rights, she concluded.
In a powerful speech, Dr. Jorge Saavedra, Head of Mexico’s National HIV/AIDS Programme, delivered the Jonathon Mann Memorial Lecture (named in memory of scientist Jonathon Mann, credited with building the World Health Organisation’s AIDS programme from the ground up). Dr. Saavedra provided a multi-dimensional overview of the HIV epidemic in men who have sex with men (MSM), specifically highlighting hidden epidemics among MSM in low- and middle-income countries; and discussing factors that increase HIV risk and vulnerability across cultures.
He also called for the decriminalisation of sexual behaviour between consenting adults, for greater commitment from donors to fund MSM programmes, and the inclusion of measures of responsiveness to the needs of MSM in programme evaluation.
Dr. Saavedra ended his presentation by showing a picture of himself and his husband (they are legally married): a proud moment for every gay man and woman in the room – of which there were many.
I can honestly say that this conference has been an experience to treasure; the best HIV/AIDS community-sector experience of my life. I have, through contacts made in Mexico, offered my assistance to both the Global Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS, and its Asia-Pacific counterpart, to help with the global response to the AIDS crisis. I hope I have the opportunity to attend the 18th IAC in Vienna in 2010.
Brett Hayhoe is the president of PLWHA Victoria: www.plwhavictoria.org.au
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Universal action now!
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, we already got an achievement: The Panama Government changed their law that criminalized sex between men. Panama was the only Latin country that used to have a law like that in our region.