President Yudhoyono opens International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific

Monday, 10 August 2009

The Jakarta Post

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono lauded Sunday evening more than 4,000 delegates from some 65 countries attending the opening of the 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP).

Yudhoyono officially opened the biennial five-day event saying he appreciated the delegates for attending the event, dubbing it “a form of solidarity” to Indonesians who just suffered from a terror bomb attack last month.

“I guarantee that the recent attack in Jakarta would not change the fact that Indonesia is a stable, peaceful democracy which offers freedom, pluralism and tolerance like you people see here in Bali,” Yudhoyono said addressing the participants at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana cultural park in Nusa Dua, Bali.

He said the police and other security officers would continually work to ensure security in the
country.

On HIV/AIDS, Yudhoyono said countries in the Asia Pacific region should strengthen their network, such as by establishing partnership in the field of HIV/AIDS vaccine and drug invention.

Chairman of the steering committee of the 9th ICAAP, Zubairi Djoerban, said while in general Asia Pacific countries had made progress with their fewer infection rate and fewer number of people that die of HIV/AIDS, some developing and poor nations were still facing problems with poor access to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.

He said problems with diagnosis and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS were likewise still lingering.

Myung-Hwan Cho, president of the AIDS Society in Asia and the Pacific, said that HIV-infected people remained discriminated, while groups posing high risk of developing HIV/AIDS were still often subject to violence in the region.

Representative of the ICAAP community forums, Gourmet Singh, said injecting drug users, men having sex with men, sex workers and other high-risk groups should not be deemed criminals because of their behaviors as it would disrupt efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among them and to people outside the groups.

First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, who is also the Indonesian AIDS Ambassador, read out during the opening ceremony an HIV/AIDS declaration drafted by AIDS ambassadors and champions from the Asia-Pacific region prior to the opening.

Among the points of the declaration is that the ambassadors and champions “recognize that as the result of the global economic crisis, funding for efforts to deal with HIV/AIDS may be disrupted”.

They call governments of Asia-Pacific countries not to neglect efforts to combat HIV/AIDS despite the crisis, and to provide “equitable access” to services for people living with the disease.

The AIDS congress is also attended by delegates from outside the Asia-Pacific region, including those from Europe, America and Africa.