The Southeast and East Asia Treatment Education and Advocacy Workshop was held in Pattaya, Thailand from 20 -24 Sept 2004 organised by the Asia Pacific Network of PLWHA (APN+) with a steering committee of activists from around the Asia Pacific region. Sponsored by Tides Foundation, this successful 4-day meeting was attended by 40 participants from eight countries: Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, China and Thailand, a majority of who were people living with HIV and AIDS. An additional 30 resource people, translators, presenters, steering committee members, and observers also participated. Additional funding for this workshop was provided by the Rockefeller Foundation.
The majority of people living with HIV and AIDS in the Southeast and East Asia region who need treatments do not have access to it. Community organisations, especially PLWHA groups, need training in treatment literacy and education and treatment advocacy. This workshop was aimed to stimulate progress in this area. But it also had another set of related goals.
Following the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) meeting in Cape Town in 2003, the need was identified for funding for grassroots treatment education and advocacy initiatives. Since then, in a process lead by the TIDES foundation, various funders have agreed to fund a collaboration to provide grants to community based organizations to do treatment education and advocacy projects. A regional collaborative fund has now been established in the Southeast and East Asia region, and this workshop aimed to facilitate a process for participants to design projects and proposals to apply for funding.
The four days involved basic treatment education, a discussion of how to promote treatment literacy and education, an introduction to the concept of advocacy, discussions on developing advocacy plans and strategies around treatment access, and a session on how to write funding proposals. Information was given on the Collaborative Fund. The agenda was designed to give participants time to interact and relax. It was also designed to facilitate sharing of experience and to build momentum for follow-up to the workshop. There were also special sessions on buyer's clubs to facilitate accessing cheaper medicines, and on HIV treatment, and case studies presented on treatment advocacy in Thailand, and working with vulnerable communities in Nepal, a country which is expected to soon host a similar workshop for South Asia. Interpretation was provided for six languages to fully encourage the participation of all attendees.
"The sophisticated analytical skills, focus, commitment and passion of the participants was amazing," said David Barr of the TIDES Foundation. "There was much achieved."
"We've come a long way since the Cape Town meeting," said Andy Quan of APCASO and AFAO. "It's great to meet activists from countries like China, Laos and Vietnam and to get a sense of progress in their countries."
What will come next? Participants drafted strategies and action plans both on an individual basis as well as in country groups. Many indicated the desire to establish national networks, whether for treatment advocacy or national networks for people with HIV and AIDS in countries where they do not exist. A full report from the workshop is available at under "what's new" and under "new publications". A call for submissions for applications to the regional collaborative fund will also be posted within the next few months.
