Bangkok – In recent times, every local or international conference dealing with problems that need early solutions has one underlying theme: there is too much talk, too little action. Popularly known as NATO (All Talk, No Action)!

This was a feature at the recently concluded 11th ICAAP (International Congress on AIDS in Asia & the Pacific) in the Thai capital of Bangkok too, a point driven strongly by none other than a man living with HIV himself. In an impassioned plea, Shiba Phurailatpam from the Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV (APN+) said governments were not doing enough to help people living with HIV with treatment and other support. “Conferences are useless if there are no solutions. Drug use is not a criminal offence and should not be. Less money should be spent on conferences (and more money provided for treatment),” he said, drawing applause from leaders of society who gathered for a ‘leadership’ meeting on the state of the epidemic, on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific biennial (once-in-two-years) meeting.

In fact, over sips of coffee, delegates discussed whether ICAAP12 in 2015 scheduled in Bangladesh should be held. The future of ICAAP was in fact posed in a separate session titled “The future of ICAAP: Do we need one in 2015?”

Nagging questions persist like will funding continue or are we near an end to the epidemic that was first discovered in the late 1970s. Thirty years ago, medical professionals concluded that a cure would be found in 20 years which hasn’t happened. But there is a silver lining as medical research towards a cure has shown promising signs.

The lighter side: A delegate poses with others dressed as condoms. Pic courtesy unaids. asiapacific

On a serious note, Bangladesh, host of the 2015 meeting, is going ahead with preparations and was well represented in Bangkok.  Some however believe Bangkok could be the last ICAAP since its inception in 1990 including a meeting in 2007 in Colombo, owing to funding issues and lack of an unimaginable solution.

Yet if not for two striking new elements (search for a cure and search for new funding), in my view, the meeting would have ended as another has-been conference; lots of networking and camaraderie but no solutions or progress in sight.

The more important of the two is encouraging progress in the search for a much needed cure which would end, perhaps, one of the most complex, if not devastating, epidemics this century. The second is the call for new ways of funding in a world where funding options for many sectors are drying up with the financial crisis and the recession in tow. A third aspect that got some attention was the need to push HIV/AIDs in post-2015 development agenda when the era of millennium development goals ends.

On the flipside, the presence of large disadvantaged groups like transsexuals, MSMs (men having sex with men) or gays, lesbians and commercial sex workers,  and the interaction, socializing and simply having fun without being ridiculed or harassed for their dress or appearance, is a plus point at conferences of this nature.

The large Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre provided an ideal location for these groups to be free, walk along corridors in whatever dress or appearance, have a laugh, share a joke, discuss serious stuff and meet old friends. Not even daily opposition-led protests in the capital against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her shaky government, which clogged traffic and some key arteries, could take the shine away from the meeting which drew more than 3,000 participants from Asia and the Pacific.

Across the corridor halls and inside meeting rooms, the need to dismantle barriers, recognise and acknowledge the rights of people with different sexual preferences, and to remove archaic laws that criminalise sex work and same sex relations, was powerfully expressed. But more than that, sitting at some of the most sensitive and dispassionate discussions, where there was vibrant interaction and blunt discourse was a very enriching experience for many visitors. “We don’t get this kind of freedom to share feelings, concerns and also simply enjoy,” one participant said.

They had a ball, and, – outside the glare of the public most of who would frown on their behaviour –, there were, understandably, some outrageous comments. At a discussion on sexual rights, an imposingly, tall transvestite called for support from the audience for government and society to allow “us to have sex the way we want”. A roar of approval thundered across the room. Stronger but unprintable words were, in fact, used.

In another small cubicle, a group of young people sit down to listen to a presentation by a UK-based organisation called the Pleasure Project on putting back pleasure in safe sex. “The debate is all about safe sex. What about enjoying sex in a safe way?” asked Anita Singh from the organisation, displaying a giant female condom.

On the same topic at another discussion,  Prabha Nagaraja, Executive Director at Delhi-based TARSHI (Talking About Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues) asks why people have sex. The response: For reproduction; enjoyment, lust, stress relief, etc.

“So if it is for reproductive purposes only, do couples stop having sex after they have had the number of children they want?” she asks. The audience simply smiles.

HIV/AIDs related conferences like these are throwing up many issues that are confronting society every minute, every second. The scary part is that even though there has been a 26 per cent reduction in new HIV injections since 2001, nearly five million are living with HIV while 270,000 people died of AIDS, according to the latest available statistics in 2012.
This alone is enough to take the bull by the horns and openly discuss an issue that has dogged medical research, rigid communities frowning on behaviour patterns and a more, friendly media that empathizes with the situation rather than being passive and discussing it behind closed-doors. Like it or not; there is a crisis that is taking its toll on humans, on health, on productivity and on livelihoods.

A start must be made somewhere and that’s why a group of experienced media professionals were invited by UNAIDS for a discussion, on the sidelines of the ICAAP meeting, to formulate an informal network and look at new ways of fighting the epidemic in Asia and the Pacific from a media perspective.

There are other encouraging signs. Faith-based (religious) groups, the most rigid and conservative in terms of sexual behaviour and contact, are finally coming to grips with an issue that is either taboo to be spoken about in some societies or still evokes stigma and discrimination against those living with HIV.

Some examples by an Indian NGO were reported at a session on the ‘faith-based response to HIV/AIDS’ where the mosque Imams were invited to talk about these sexual health issues at the weekly Friday prayer-cum-sermons. Leaflets and posters were also distributed amongst the faithful. It was revealed that women who received this intervention, through the mosque, had showed a significant improvement in their sexual health.

Examples from Nepal and Thailand were also discussed where awareness programmes were carried out through Church and Muslim leaders. Good signs indeed but still a long way to go to make this planet a happier place!