PAI Facilitates Donor Dialogue Linking HIV and Sexual & Reproductive Health and Rights in Bali

Bali, Indonesia - On August 12th, 2009, PAI facilitated a session on the importance of linkages between sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and HIV during the 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP).  The session was moderated by Elisha Dunn-Georgiou, PAI’s Project Manager for the Mobilizing for RH-HIV Integration Initiative and co-hosted by the Asia Pacific Alliance (APA) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).  The session was a conversation amongst donors and nearly 120 civil society representatives working in the Asia-Pacific region.  Donor representatives included the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), AusAID, UNFPA and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).  Also on the panel was a civil society representative from the India HIV/AIDS Alliance.

Many of the panelists emphasized  the importance of SRHR and HIV linkages, especially when dealing with ‘overlapping identities’ within HIV programming.  With cases of HIV across the Asia and the Pacific region largely concentrated among commercial sex workers, injecting drug users and men who have sex with men,  integrating SRHR and HIV services ensures that people from overlapping and vulnerable populations do not miss out on essential health services.  Integrating services also reduces barriers created by stigma and discrimination by providing services from one health center, instead of separate facilities.  

Panelists were cautious to note that SRHR-HIV integration was not a cure-all for challenges in the region, because in certain situations SRHR-HIV linkages could increase burdens on health systems and create access barriers for populations most at risk of HIV.  With the current economic climate and declining resources available, panelists agreed that investments in the health sector need to be invested smartly. In many countries integration makes sense and has the potential to be an effective approach.  Looking towards the future, there is a need for coordinated policies – from donors and within national health systems – making SRHR-HIV integration easier to implement and on the ground.  We are hopeful that this session was the first of many conversations between these two communities on HIV/SRHR integration. 

For more information, contact edunn-georgiou@popact.org

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