The panel explored the critical role of communities in advancing the HIV/AIDS response, how networks of people living with, at risk of and affected by HIV have led and driven progress through advocacy, service delivery, research, monitoring and accountability.
Midnight highlighted APCOM’s leadership role of PrEP advocacy for over a decade working with community leaders, governments, and partners with PrEParing Asia 2015, and PrEParing Asia 2025: Making PrEP Choice a Reality.
Happy Pride Month everyone.
I work with APCOM based in Bangkok, Thailand – APCOM is a regional organisation working with communities on health, rights and well being in over 30 countries in Asia and the Pacific.
Prevention options, including both oral and injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), are central to HIV prevention in the Asia-Pacific region.
Community-led organisations play an equally vital role in advocating for and delivering these prevention services, ensuring they reach the most affected populations.
Despite PrEP’s proven efficacy, its uptake across the region remains suboptimal, underscoring the need for targeted, coordinated efforts to address barriers to access, awareness, and adherence.
The data also show that new HIV infections in the Asia-Pacific declined by only 17 % since 2010, well behind global targets.
In this context, APCOM is committed to advancing the health and rights of men who have sex with men (MSM) and people of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics by strengthening prevention programming and addressing stigma and inequalities.
Through our annual Community Summit,last year PrEPARING ASIA 2025: Making Prevention Choice a Reality. APCOM convened nearly 100 community leaders, governments, and partners to develop a roadmap for scaling up PrEP, both oral and injectable, at the country level. This meeting was a follow up from our community-led PrEPARING Asia meeting 10 years ago.
Investment in community-led prevention programmes is so under-funded.
And we call on Member States to fund us.
Thank you.
See also:
APCOM’s work on previously HLM on HIV/AIDS
2021
2016
2011
