UNESCO Activities at the 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific

From 10-08-2009 to 10-08-2009 (Indonesia) 

UNESCO participated at the 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) in Bali, Indonesia on 9-13 August 2009, which focused on the theme of “Empowering People & Strengthening Networks”.

ICAAP, the second largest AIDS forum in the world, brought together HIV positive people, health care professionals, public policy leaders, community advocates, activists, researchers, journalists, and faith-based communities to discuss the state of the AIDS epidemic in the region.

The sessions and activities that were organized with UNESCO support included:

A Special Session on Enhancing HIV Prevention for Adolescents through Effective HIV and Sexuality Education
Date: Sunday, 9 August 2009
Time: 9am – 3.30pm
Location: Goodway Hotel and Resort, Nusa-Dua
Organized jointly by Plan International, PATH, the UNAIDS Secretariat, UNESCO, UNICEF, and UNFPA

The Special Session focused attention on UNESCO’s recently launched International Guidelines on Sexuality Education, developed in partnership with UNFPA and other agencies. .

The International Guidelines are based on the most current review of evidence on sexuality education programmes and provide technical guidance to decision- makers in education and health, particularly ministries and education professionals, including teachers, curriculum developers and programme implementers.

The session also focused on collaboration in the region between international development organizations, governments and civil society partners (especially those led by and focused on young people) to build support for scaling up good quality sexuality education.

A Satellite Session on HIV prevention and Most-at-Risk Young People
Date: Monday, 10 August 2009
Time: 16:00-17:30
Location: Bali International Convention Center, Westin Hotel
Organised jointly by UNFPA and other partners (UNAIDS Secretariat, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNODC and WHO)

In general, HIV prevention services in the Asia region are currently not reaching young people who are most at risk of infection, which include those who inject drugs, who engage in unprotected male to male sex and those involved in sex work and their clients. In order to address this situation the Asia Pacific Regional UN Coordination Group on Most at Risk Young People hosted a symposium at the IX International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific.

According to epidemic models presented in the 2008 AIDS in Asia Commission report, over 95% of all new HIV infections in the Asia region occur among such most at risk young populations. However, over 90% of resources for young people as a group are spent on low-risk youth, who represent less than 5% of infections.

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Two poster presentations on The Education Sector Response to Manage and Mitigate HIV and AIDS in Nepal and Strengthening School-based Responses for Adolescents Most-at-risk for HIV and AIDS in Asia.

UNESCO also supported other ICAAP-Affiliated Events including:

Sub-regional meeting on HIV among Men who have Sex with Men/Transgenders in Insular Southeast Asia
Date: Tuesday – Thursday, 4 - 6 August 2009
Time: All-day
Location: Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia
Organized jointly by UNESCO, APCOM and GAYa NUSANTARA

APCOM Pre-Congress Satellite on MSM and HIV - “From 200 to Ø: Responding Effectively to HIV among MSM in Asia Pacific”
Date: Saturday, 8 August 2009
Time: All-day
Location: Mercure Sanur Hotel, Bali, Indonesia
Organized by APCOM, Hivos, UNDP, UNAIDS, UNESCO, PSI, AFAO, FHI, WHO, World Bank, PACT and Burnet
Contact: 200forum[at]msmasia.org

For more background information about ICAAP, go to http://www.icaap9.org/ or for the detailed programme click here.

UNESCO also supported the participation of key partners from Ministries of Education in the Asia Pacific region at ICAAP, including Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Mongolia, Cambodia and Thailand.

More details on UNESCO’s involvement in ICAAP are available on UNESCO’s Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education website.