ASEAN urged to fight HIV/AIDS pandemic

ASEAN urged to fight HIV/AIDS pandemic

Ati Nurbaiti and Rita A. Widiadana, Sanur, Bali

HIV/AIDS activists and experts have called on governments grouped
in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to make a
strong commitment to combat the spread of the condition, and also
urged them to stop playing down the seriousness of this complex
issue.

In a panel discussion at the Second ASEAN People's Assembly on
Saturday, Nik Fahme Husin from Malaysia strongly urged the
region's governments to address the HIV/AIDS issue.

"HIV/AIDS is more than a health issue. It is a human security
problem, which will affect people's basic security," Fahmee said.

HIV/AIDs usually hits people in their productive age and
contributes to the loss of a potential work force, costing both
the individual and the nation.

He warned authorities that unless they took proper action,
HIV/AIDS would threaten the entire population of the region.

"We should learn a hard lesson from African countries where
their governments hid and simplified HIV/AIDS before it turned
into a time bomb for their countries," he said.

He said ASEAN countries still had an opportunity to prevent
this from happening in the region, provided that the governments
and the entire population worked hand in hand to fight HIV/AIDS.

Roy Chan, a medical doctor from Singapore, said that ASEAN
countries required a political commitment from the very highest
level of government in facing the HIV/AIDS problem.

These commitments must be translated into real action in the
form of comprehensive and integrated programs, wide access to
medication, including affordable treatment and drugs, Chan said.

Singapore is a more developed country than others in the
region, yet health treatment and facilities for people living
with HIV/AIDS are limited, he said.

In Singapore, a report reveals that more than 1,000 people are
living with HIV/AIDs. "But our patients in Singapore have to buy
drugs at U.S. prices. There are no subsidies, no generic drugs
available," he said.

HIV/AIDS came late to Asia. Until the late l980s, not one
country in the region had experienced a major epidemic, and in
l999, only Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand documented a
significant nationwide epidemic.

In 2001, 1.07 million adults and children became infected with
HIV in Asia and the Pacific region, bringing the total number of
people living with HIV/AIDS in this region to more than 7
million.

Danny Yatim, an AIDS councillor from Indonesia, said that the
government should be more pragmatic in dealing with the issue.

The latest figure of reported cases of HIV/AIDS in Indonesia
has reached 3,000.

"This figure is nothing compared to the country's population
of 220 million. The Indonesian government will say that this is
just a small issue compared to our current economic and political
problems," Danny said.

Many officials tend to view HIV/AIDS as affecting only sex
workers or the homosexual community, he said.

"We have to open their eyes and change their mind-set that
HIV/AIDS can affect anybody, the young or the old, the rich or
the poor, before they can make a commitment," Danny said.

Hopes will be dimmed if officials maintain "conventional views
on these issues. Ethics and moral issues have always been used as
an excuse to not address HIV/AIDS properly," Danny said.

The promotion of the usage of condoms to prevent AIDS has
often been mistaken by authorities as promoting sex among people,
the youth especially, he said. "Religious leaders frequently
object to the distribution of condoms."

But in the fight against HIV/AIDS, he urged a cross-border
collaboration. "If you cannot rely on the government, you can
still find help from the people and organizations in the region
to share experiences and, at least, information, " Danny said.

The HIV/AIDS issue will be presented at the next ASEAN Summit
in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, next November as a common and crucial
issue faced by people in the ASEAN region.