PN WORLD NEWS SPECIAL - BANGKOK Photographs by Alex Cabllero
Holding
political leaders to account for a lack of cash and commitment to fight the
epidemic was a central theme at the Bangkok World Aids Conference. But some
activists lost the public relations battle by shouting down politicians and
trashing pharmaceutical company stands. Their behaviour stood in stark contrast
to the dignified protests of Thai Aids activists who staged a powerful but
orderly demo at the start of the conference. They protested at the $1,000
registration fee and lack of access to antiretroviral drugs in Thailand and
across the globe. And during the opening speeches they also unfurled banners
criticising Thai Prime Minister Dr Thaksin Shinawatra for the alleged state
killing of 2,500 intravenous drug users. In a country where political demonstrating
in public is rare, and often met with a violent response from the police and
military, the local activists received loud support from the audience.
Dr Joep Lange, president of the International Aids Society, the conference
organisers, complained that the heckling of US Secretary of Health Tommy Thompson
at the 2002 Barcelona conference had cost the conference dear due to a cut
in US funding and representation from US doctors and researchers. But his
warning failed to prevent Randall Tobias, head of the State Department's office
of the Global Aids co-ordinator, being angrily booed off stage in Bangkok.
ACT-UP ran around the conference centre chanting and blowing whistles, held
a mock trial of G8 leaders, daubing giant photos of Bush, Blair, Chirac et
al with fake blood and 'trashed' each drug company stand in turn as the week
went on. The Bangkok daily newspaper The Nation took a dim view, pointing
out that poorly paid Thai workers were left to clean up the mess. But it was
community leader Sean Mellors who calmly summed up the feelings of many at
the closing ceremony: "Not all leaders are showing leadership. We all need
to be accountable."
People living with HIV/Aids have finally won full voting rights on the Global
Fund board, bringing them into line with Governments. The breakthrough, after
a two-year battle, was hailed as "making history" by members of the Fund's
communities' delegation, which comprises people living with HIV, TB and Malaria
from around the world. UK delegate Mick Matthews said the right to vote would
allow the delegation to step up pressure. Community delegates are hoping to
use their new-won powers to push through changes to the Fund's definition
of "vulnerable populations" to include sex workers, intravenous drugs users
and men who have sex with men. They also want the organisation to employ more
people living with HIV/Aids and more women.
Since it was established in 2002, the Fund has awarded 296 grants and committed $3.1 billion to more than 250 two-year programmes in more than 130 countries. But western governments have come under fire for failing to honour their commitments. The US has slashed its pledge to the Fund by 64 per cent from $547 million in 2004 to £200 million in 2005. ActionAid report that the world's richest countries have still only contributed 20 per cent of the $3.5 billion needed by the Fund in 2005.
Promotion of sexual abstinence to slow the Aids epidemic got a rough ride
in Bangkok. President Bush's version of the policy in particular came under
fire from a host of speakers. Last year he pledged £15 billion over five years
to fight Aids, but refused to support condom distribution and forced US government
bodies, and even foreign countries, to promote abstinence. Raoul Fransen,
of the Dutch Young Positives Foundation, said that in American states where
abstinence policies are enforced, rates of sexually transmitted infections
(STIs) and teenage pregnancies are now at record levels. "Abstinence does
not fit into the health needs of young people. We need clear information,
clean needles and support services to make choices and not an ideology," he
said.
"Aids education is being taken over by right wing propaganda," added Mary
Crewe, of the University of Pretoria: "It's a nostalgic view of society and
a nostalgic view of young people." Earlier in the week, Ugandan President
Yoweri Museveni told the conference that condoms were "only useful for migrant
workers." Uganda pioneered ABC (Abstinence, Be Faithful - or if you can't
- use Condoms) for HIV prevention ten years ago. Ugandan activist Milly Katana
said: "Condoms have saved lives but many who did not hear of the condom gospel,
or heard and never took heed, are long dead." Dr Thoraya Obaid, from the UN
Population Fund, said being faithful didn't help many young women
around the world who were infected by their husbands.
Professor Dennis Altman, of Melbourne University, said: "In most parts of the world political leaders and faith based institutions are the problem, not the solution." Altman called on President Bush to promote masturbation and other safer sexual practices to stem the tide of the HIV epidemic. "But I can't see posters coming from Bush urging people to wank together," he added dryly. Richard Gere speculated: "We may well have hopefully another administration in about four months in the US and along with that some sanity on the subject." Gareth Thomas, junior minister at the UK Department for International Development, rejected the Bush administration's reliance on abstinence policy. "The UK government encourages a delay in the start of sexual activity, but you have to recognise people are able to make their own decisions about their sex lives."
There were five million new cases of HIV worldwide in 2003 and three million
deaths from the disease. UNAIDS said about 38 million people were now living
with HIV as opposed to estimates of over 40 million last year. The revised
figure is based on better information from rural areas. But the epidemic was
now entering its "globalisation phase", UNAIDS executive director Dr Peter
Piot warned. A quarter of new infections are now in Asia and HIV is growing
fastest in countries of the former Soviet Union among drug users. Women make
up half of all people living with HIV worldwide. In Africa the percentage
is now over two thirds and increasing rapidly. But the good news is a decline
in HIV prevalence in east Africa and a levelling off in west Africa. But the
response is still falling short in prevention, sex education, access to condoms
and clean needles. The number of people on anti-HIV treatments has doubled
with 440,000 in the developing world now receiving the drugs, but the access
is "shockingly low", he said. UNAIDS called on international pharmaceutical
companies to show more responsibility and criticised the US for trying to
block access to cheap drugs. High quality generic HIV drugs are now available,
Dr Piot said, and it is now up to the big pharmacos to cut prices further.
