The five-day International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) in Bali concluded Thursday with country participants agreeing to strengthen their partnership and hear more voices of the affected communities.

Irwanto, chief rapporteur and head of the 9th ICAAP Scientific Committee, said during the closing ceremony in Nusa Dua, Bali, that participants of the event had acknowledged the need of involving HIV-affected communities in preventive, treatment and care  measures to tackle with HIV/AIDS.

“Empowering people means  that the affected communities do not only regain but also haveownership of their voices,” said Irwanto, referring to the theme of the congress “Empowering People and Strengthening Networks”.

“It is important therefore to fully and constructively address any social, cultural and legal barriers preventing their meaningful participation.

“Opportunities and venues for communities to express their needs, concerns and ideas must be provided and we must listen and seriously act upon them.”

Indeed, Dewa Nyoman Wirawan, co-chairman of the 9th ICAAP steering committee, said in a press conference post the closing ceremony that this was the first time affected communities were actively involved in the ICAAP after their scarce participation in eight previous congresses.

Samlee Plianbangchang, regional director of the World Health Organization South-East Asia, said, “Only when we have reached, treated and cared for every affected man, woman and child can we really think of achieving the MDGs [Millenium Development Goals].”

At least eight groups representing key HIV-affected communities took part in the five-day congress, including the networks of  people living with HIV, sex workers, transgenders, men having sex with men, and people who use drugs.

These groups actively advocated their rights to live and work without being discriminated against nor stigmatized during many sessions of the event, which successfully drew over 4,000 delegates from 78 countries in Asia and the Pacific plus other regions.

Other key recommendations of the 9th ICAAP include the need to early detect the presence of HIV in    patients and ensure the accessibility and sustainability of antiretroviral treatment.

The congress also recommends the need for good governance and leaderships to  reach universal access for HIV/AIDS patients’ treatment, where countries in the region are told to scale up their intervention by mobilizing their internal resources and “reducing dependencies on external donors”.

“In a variety of contexts and in diverse populations and communities, we’ve been reminded
again and again that effective prevention programs must take a comprehensive approach; that single solution efforts seldom work...” Irwanto said.

The closing ceremony began with a performance by Balinese Kipas dancers and Acehnese Saman dancers, and was ended with handover ceremony from the chairman of the 9th ICAAP, Zubairi Djoerban, to Min-Ki Kim of the 10th ICAAP local organizing committee.

The 10th ICAAP will be held in Busan, South Korea’s second largest city, and themed “Different Voices - United Actions”.

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