After attending the Risk and Responsibility conference in September 2006 in India, I had no clue what would be the next chapter for MSM and HIV programmes in Asia. I, at that time, was very new to the HIV work and had just started my work as a program supervisor for the Sisters program. Sisters was the one and only trans exclusive programme working with trans women in Pattaya, Thailand. Later on, someone approached me and invited me to attend the meeting and represented the trans community at the interim board for APCOM. That is when I realized that “we must work together” to build an enabling environment and mobilize resources to support HIV work for MSM and trans women.
APCOM came before the others and has helped countless individuals and groups to advocate for health and well-being for the MSM and LGBT+ community. APCOM has shown its vision and leadership to pave the way for others to follow in its footstep. APCOM is also a great school for many who had been involved in its work and mission. I am impressed with how APCOM has grown and done its advocacy work for the past 15 years.
I believe 15 years have passed with great memory and legacy that APCOM has left for the LGBT movement. I also cannot wait to see what would APCOM bring to the LGBT community in Asia and the Pacific for the next 15 years. I will not be only a witness to its achievement but will support its mission when I can. Thank you very much for the work APCOM leads and still does.
About the contributor:
Hua is a trans woman and an activist. She currently is a project manager for the Intersex and Trans Movement Building project at Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. At the local level, she manages the Trans Health Access Thailand project funded by the Thai Health Promotion Fund which aims to promote and improve access to gender-affirming care for trans people in Thailand. Hua has been involved in the trans movement in Thailand since the early days and helped establish a few trans organizations in Thailand such as the Foundation of Transgender Alliance for Human Rights (ThaiTGA) and Sisters Foundation and in Asia and the Pacific such as Asia Pacific Transgender Network. In the past, Hua was on the APCOM’s interim board and represented the trans community in Asia and the Pacific.
