Tibetan delegation at XVIII International AIDS Conference, July 18 – 23, 2010 – Vienna, Austria
A Tibetan delegation comprising of Mr. Choepe Paljor Tsering (Health Minister), Central Tibetan Administration, Tibetan Govt. in Exile and Mr. Phuntsok Chomphel (Project Officer, CHOICE—HIV/AIDS Initiative) representing the only Tibetan run NGO on HIV/AIDS, attended for the first time ever, the weeklong XVIII International AIDS Conference 2010 at Vienna, Austria. The theme of the Conference was RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW and was held from July 18 – 23, 2010.
Both the delegate reached Vienna on morning July 17 where the Health Minister was received by Mr. Sunin Lee and Ms. Elisabeth and Mr. Phuntsok was received by friends of CHOICE; Mr. Nicolas and Elek Schlitz at the Vienna international airport.
Later the delegates headed towards the Reed Messe Centre for the registration and material pickup for the days of conference and explore the conference venue and made preliminary preparations for the upcoming World AIDS Conference.
The XVIII International AIDS Conference opens on Sunday, 18 July, scientist, world leaders, advocates, activist and people living with HIV(PLHA) welcomed the delegates with a call to action on human rights and renewed commitments to basic research, evidence –based interventions and universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.
The largest gathering on global fight against HIV/AIDS, AIDS 2010 witnessed more than 25,000 delegates from 185 nations converged on the opening session of International AIDS Conference evening of July 18, 2010 with the inaugural recorded message from Mr. Ban ki Moon, Secretary to the United Nations.
A key focus of the opening session was the three plenary presentations on the state of the epidemic. Yves Souteyrand (France) updated the global and regional epidemiological data, examine the combined impact of HIV prevention interventions and antiretroviral therapy on HIV incidence, mortality and prevalence, and outline the complex interaction between human rights and the development of the epidemic among most-at-risk populations.
Explaining the recent advances in understanding HIV replication, latent infection and avenues for future research, Sharon Lewin (Australia) called on the funders, policy makers and affected communities to move promising strategies for a cure into clinical trials.
Followed by the message from the Co-chairs, Drs. Julio Montaner and Brigitte Schmied stressed on the convergence of key milestones in the global response to AIDS and a strong scientific programme, AIDS 2010 promises to be a landmark meeting.
They quote “the need to eliminate gender inequality, stigma and discrimination and to reform policies contrary to scientific evidence, have been seen as important, yet, in some ways, parallel goals. In Vienna, we are putting these issues front and centre, recognizing that they are, in fact, the building blocks for universal access”.
On the morning of July 19, Health Minister and Mr. Phuntsok Chomphel visited Global Village: where the community Response to AIDS comes to Life. The Global Village Opening Ceremony kicked off that day around 11:00 a.m. on the main stage in hall A with the welcoming remarks by Sonia Wehsely, Health Councilor for the city of Vienna. Crown Princess of Norway and AIDS 2010 Chair Julio Montaner delivered the remarks at the opening ceremony of the Youth Pavilion, located in the Global Village.
The AIDS 2010 Global Village is a space for knowledge and skills, build coalition, and promote interactive learning among communities living with and affected by HIV and AIDS, policy makers, researchers and other stakeholder groups. It is an interactive, participatory, community –focused space that gives voice to the conference theme, Right Here, Right now. The Global Village is open to delegates and the general public and admission is free.
Later in the afternoon Mr. Chomphel attended the conference titled ‘Eye on China: Response and Challenges on HIV/AIDS’ at conference hub mini room no. 9, 18:00 hours. The conference was organized by China State Council AIDS Working Committee Office, UN Theme Group on AIDS in China and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation China Office and Co-organized by NCAIDS, China CDC, Chinese Ass. STD & AIDS Prevention Control and US CDC-Global AIDS Program.
The two hours conference was chaired by Dr. Wu Zunyou of NCAIDS, China CDC and Dr. Michael O’Leary, WHO Representative China with seven different resource speakers covering varied topics. The speakers allowed only one and two question from the floor quoting lack of time which disappointed the audience comprising of activist and human rights watchdogs.
Of the total 150 conference attendees, around 80% were Chinese nationals. The critical questions from the Human Rights Watch groups and people working in Policy Advocacies end with no clear answers from the speakers citing varied excuses. It was a disappointing show as always.
On third day (i.e., July 20) Mr. Phuntsok Chomphel visited exhibition hall and the field of interest where representative from different countries, pharmaceutical companies and big organizations display their activities and campaigns.
Meeting with the CLUB 25 management consultant: During the interaction with Ms. Diane de Coning from CLUB 25, she acquainted us on works of her organization. She stated that her organization aimed at young generations where young blood donors, under the umbrella slogan of “new blood for the world’ are rallying together in a spirit of solidarity to take a leadership roles in health promotion, as well as saving lives through regular blood donations. When Mr. Chomphel showed interest in forming such youth group among Tibetans in exile to provide safe blood free from infection, Ms. Diana promised to assist anything from conceptual background to logistics requirement.
Later Mr. Chomphel met the Intact America group that envision a world where children are protected from permanent bodily alteration inflicted on them without their consent, in the name of culture, religion, profit, or parental preference with the campaign “His Body, His Choice”.
The Intact America group handed over the fact sheet on male circumcision that new newborn male circumcision is the most common surgical procedure performed in the U.S. They said, “It's a common misconception that there are tangible health benefits to male circumcision, but the truth is no medical society in the world recommends it. This invasive procedure carries serious health risks, including infection, hemorrhage, surgical mishap, and death, as well many ethical considerations”.
The culprits reason that the circumcision may reduce the chances of getting HIV infection rate but still there are risks so why not use condom instead of heavy expenditure on circumcision. At the exhibition, Mr. Chomphel also fixed a meeting with the representatives from Global Fund for the following day.
After the lunch break, Minister Paljor and Mr. Chomphel visited Global Village again. Activities in the Global Village were in full swing, with delegates and the public interacting in the various networking zones that focus on priority populations, issues and geographic regions. They then visited the CONFOMIZE Zone, where they provided condom campaign t-shirts. There were also many different organization exchanging souviners in form of T-shirts, condoms, key chains, posters, flash drives etc. In the Human Rights Networking Zone, we can watch video screenings or participate in a panel discussion or skills building workshop on HIV and human rights-related topics. During the both the meetings and networks were built with different international organization and exchanged experience, words and business cards.
As planned before the delegation had a meeting with Dr. David Hawkins from England (trustee of SSAT) at Courtyard Marriott Hotel at 2 a clock.The meeting was important in the sense that supports from St. Stephen AIDS Trust (SSAT) for the Training etc could be garnered. During the meeting, Health Minister Paljor introduced about the function of exile community setup and health department of CTA. Likewise, Mr. Chomphel introduced CHOICE and briefed about the work and project pipeline and most importantly of Training of Trainers workshop at Delhi. Mr. Chomphel also put forward the core funding case from the SSAT. Dr. Hawking accepted (in principle) supporting of the Training and promised to present the case of core funding to the Board of SSAT during the Board meeting. The meeting proved to be a huge success for CHOICE.
The day ended with bags full of books, materials and information leaflets on different issues related to HIV/AIDS.
On the morning of July 21 Health Minister and Mr. Phuntsok Chomphel headed towards the exhibition hall to meet Mr. Paul Yaun from Global Fund. Mr. Yaun introduce about the Global Fund and network of works and how it functions. The meeting lasted for an hour discussing possibilities of getting tie up with Global Fund to fight against HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria. He also opines the possibilities of getting fund in combating HIV/AIDS under the umbrella of INDIA County Coordinating Mechanism (CCM).
Throughout the days the Conference Hubs Expand Reach of AIDS 2010 witnessed at least 45 organizations worldwide bringing AIDS 2010 to their communities. Targeting scientist, community activist and others involved in the HIV/AIDS response, these organizations are using conference hubs to strengthen their HIV response locally, build professional capacities among local stakeholders and engage regional leaders. Hubs are featuring screenings of selected sessions, workshops and trainings, and moderated discussions on how information presented at the conference can be used locally. Through discussion and debate, the hubs are helping to strengthen the local response to HIV/AIDS with the possibility of developing comprehensive plans for future actions at the local or regional levels.
Later in the evening with support from Ms. Elke Schiltz (Friends of CHOICE) organized meeting/ dinner with the members of the Tibetan community Austria at her friends place. During that time Mr. Phuntsok introduced CHOICE—HIV/AIDS Initiatives and briefed about the length of work and space of choice since its inception on 2007.
On the last day of the conference, July 22 both the delegates progressively look around the Global Village, Exhibition hall and conference hall for the last minute networking and material pick up.
Vienna Declaration “Sign the declaration” was the conclusion of a meeting of people who use drugs, scientists, policy experts and health professionals from around the world who gathered in Global Village to hear about the next steps planned for the Vienna Declaration.
While consensus was that the declaration’s impact must live on beyond the end of the conference, the Vienna declaration was a scientific statement seeking to address the HIV epidemic among persons who inject drugs, among other harms, through the incorporation of scientific evidence into drug policies.
In the evening after the closing ceremony, the President of Austria Tibetan Community (ATC) arranged a dinner at a restaurant where both the side exchanged information regarding vulnerability of Tibetans in exile getting HIV infection. In note of appreciation, Mr. Phuntsok Chomphel presented CHOICE souvenir to the executive members of ATC. The meeting that proved successful lasted for over three hours.
Overall the XVIII International AIDS Conference was an eye opening, meeting and networking with people of same interest in global fight against HIV/AIDS. The conference itself was a true nature platform where one can learn great deal from participants from other part of the world at same platform sharing expertise, information and experiences where the health issues like HIV/AIDS and TB are national agendas.
On behalf of CHOICE—HIV/AIDS Initiative, I would like to thank International AIDS Society and its local and regional partners, International partners, sponsors and supporter, donors and official transport agent for huge success of XVIII International AIDS Conference. Nonetheless I personally would like to thanks International Scholarship Team for providing every possible assistance during the process.
Our sincere gratitude also goes to Mr. Sunim Lee and Ms KR Elisabeth Lindmayer for providing accommodation and showing us around the City of Vienna during the entire time. We also acknowledge Ms. Elke and Nicolas Schlitz for providing timely information before the conference and assisting in meeting with Tibetan community of Austria.
Last but not the least, we would like to thank all the delegate/participants at the XVIII International AIDS Conference – AIDS 2010 for their contribution and active participation in sharing knowledge and pledge for global fight against HIV/AIDS.
Prepared by:
Phuntsok Chomphel
Project Officer - CHOICE