APCOM was established in 2007 as a community network working in Asia Pacific region. We envision a world where people of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics can fully participate in and achieve sustainable development in all aspects of their health, rights and wellbeing. In 2017 APCOM celebrated its tenth anniversary with the Rights, Resources & Resilience Asia Pacific Summit which gave our current Strategic Framework 2018-2020 – TENACITY.
Though successfully implementing programmes and working towards achieving the objectives as set in TENACITY, the Asia Pacific region still has many challenges around:
Gay men and other men who have sex with men are the populations with the largest increase in new HIV infections in the region, such that close to half of all new HIV infections occurring annually in Asia are predicted to be among this key population this year. Stigma and discrimination in health care settings persists and much needed HIV services for our communities are not widely available.
Further, same-sex sexual activity is criminalised in sixteen states in Asia and the Pacific leading to great vulnerability to HIV and human rights abuses. Looking at human rights inequality, the region doesn’t recognize same-sex unions or same-sex marriage (except for Taiwan) or for example adoption by same-sex couples, a clear breach on the right to establish a family.
The work of community-led organisations and networks is seriously under threat with the diminishing international resources for HIV community work, the shrinking space for civil society and a tendency toward authoritarianism in many countries, could possibly lead that all the gains made in the last 12 years through advocacy on advancing community-led HIV services and programmes, and advancing LGBTI rights would face a tremendous set back. And we don’t yet fully understand the effect of the COVID- 19 health crisis on economies and the social impact this crisis will leave us with.
With the above short descriptions of all challenges that we see ahead of us, APCOM has started the development of its new strategic plan (2021-2025). We would very much benefit from your ideas, opinions and insights to get this plan together. Therefore we would like to ask a moment of your time to take part in a short survey:
