Opening Ceremony of 14th ASEAN Task Force on AIDS Meeting

27 Jul 2006

By Professor K Satkunanantham, Director of Medical Services, MOH

Venue: Grand Plaza Parkroyal Hotel

Dr Chansy Phimphachanh,

Chairperson of the 14th ASEAN Task Force on AIDS

Distinguished Delegates

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

Good morning. It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you to Singapore and to the 14th ASEAN Task Force on AIDS Meeting.

25 years has passed since we first came to know about the existence of HIV. The virus has wreaked havoc around the world. Last month, the United Nations High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS acknowledged that we have made significant strides in our fight against HIV, particularly in the areas of funding and expanding access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. However, we still have a long way to go. Over the last quarter of a century, AIDS has killed more than 25 million people worldwide. 

Last year, more people were newly infected or killed by AIDS than ever before.  Everyday, 8000 people die from AIDS, and 11,000 people become infected.  UNAIDS estimates that today, there are 40 million people living with HIV. The pandemic continues to outstrip efforts to control it.

In ASEAN, the overall HIV prevalence remains relatively low at 0.3%.  However, the number of people living with HIV continues to rise.  And just like the rest of the world, the HIV epidemic in our region is taking on an increasingly young and female face. Half of all new HIV infections in 2005 in Asia have occurred among the youth.  Women currently represent 30% of adults living with HIV in ASEAN. 

The current situation may look bleak. However, I would like to offer you two reasons for optimism.

Importance of prevention

Firstly, the past 25 years of the pandemic have given us a wealth of information, and if there's one thing we've learnt, it is that prevention works. Comprehensive and concerted prevention efforts in countries around the world have succeeded in halting or even reversing the epidemics in their countries. The 100% Condom Use Programme in Thailand and Cambodia are two prominent examples of successful prevention efforts in the ASEAN region.

Between 1991 and 2003, the number of new HIV infections in Thailand fell by 85%, from 140,000 in 1991 to around 21,000 in 2003. The adult national HIV prevalence in Cambodia, at 1.6%, was one-third lower in 2005 than in the late 1990s.

Even as we strive towards scaling up access to treatment, care and support, we must never forget that effective and sustainable prevention programmes must continue to feature prominently in our national and regional agendas. Prevention programmes save lives and reduce economic and social burdens on families and communities.

Not only must we scale up prevention programmes, we must also make sure that our prevention efforts reach those who most need them, especially women and young people. It is not enough just to provide them with information. We must also work to ensure that knowledge is translated into actual behavioural change.

At the same time, we must address the social circumstances that put them at risk, such as poverty, lack of economic opportunities, entrenched gender biases and lack of access to information and health services.

Singapore's efforts in HIV prevention

In Singapore, HIV prevention and education are the mainstay of our national HIV control programme. Health education programmes are carried out for the general population, in schools and workplaces, and also tailored for specific high-risk groups.

We are actively working with our NGO partners and communities affected by HIV to further enhance and refine our education programmes. We will also be expanding our education and prevention programmes for youths, women, high-risk heterosexual men, and men who have sex with men.

In keeping with the goal of prevention, the Singapore government has also made voluntary antenatal HIV screening a standard of care in our hospitals and clinics. Since December 2004, when this intensified screening programme began, nearly 100% of pregnant mothers in our public hospitals have been screened for HIV, and we have not had any reports of babies born with HIV infection. In the 15 years prior to this programme, we had 20 HIV-infected children.

We are also increasing the level of HIV testing, as early diagnosis can lead to reductions in HIV-associated morbidity and mortality and reduce new infections. Since July 2005, HIV testing has been made a standard of care in Singapore and is done whenever there is a medical indication, with the same preliminaries to obtain informed consent as for other clinical tests, and where knowing the HIV status will lead to a better clinical outcome for the patient.

We are also piloting an increase in the number of clinics offering anonymous HIV testing, to encourage people who are or perceive that they are at risk of getting the infection to come forward for early testing.

Singapore strongly believes that HIV/AIDS education in the workplace is a critical component of our HIV control programme. In November 2005, the AIDS Business Alliance was set up in Singapore to champion HIV/AIDS education for workers and to advocate for a supportive and non-discriminatory working environment for HIV infected workers.

Together with the Alliance, the government has launched an educational programme called "RESPECT", or Rallying Employers to Support the Prevention, Education and Control of STI/HIV/AIDS. This programme is specially developed for our local workplaces, and aims to educate workers on AIDS prevention and fight discrimination against HIV positive workers at the workplace.

Importance of regional cooperation

The HIV situation in every ASEAN nation is different, but we are all facing a common enemy. Therein lies my second reason for optimism. The spirit of dialogue, partnership and cooperation is imbued in ASEAN. The ASEAN platform is an excellent opportunity for us to collaborate on issues that cut across different borders and sectors, learn from each other's successes and innovations, and share new ideas. 

Today's meeting is the 14th for the ASEAN Task Force on AIDS. Your continued presence at this meeting is testimony to our shared desire to work together and exchange information.

The Second ASEAN Work Programme on HIV/AIDS (AWP II) has produced results and benefited member countries. For example, a Memorandum of Understanding between countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion  and China, undertaken in close collaboration with UNDP, has led to the development of activities to prevent HIV transmission amongst people moving within and between those countries.

Member Countries have also worked together to find ways to improve access to affordable medicines. We hope that the Third ASEAN Work Programme will enable us to take another concrete step forward in our joint response against HIV and AIDS.

Conclusion

The HIV epidemic in Asia is at a critical juncture. Our actions today will determine the fate of our future generations. We know that there are barriers we must work to overcome, like stigma and discrimination, inadequate funding and human resource constraints.

Now, more than ever, is the time for strong leadership, unwavering political commitment, and sustained multi-sectoral and regional collaboration, so that the HIV epidemic does not continue its inexorable march through our continent.

At the same time, the significant increase in funding for HIV research over the past few years  gives us hope that there will be new discoveries, new tools to better manage the HIV epidemic, and new or improved prevention technologies like microbicides and vaccines.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the ASEAN secretariat for organizing this meeting, and to all of you, for your continued dedication in this fight. I wish you a very successful and productive meeting.