By Ji Hyun Lim
AsianWeek Staff Writer
In light of the growing HIV/AIDS problem throughout the world, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) sponsored the 14th International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain, from July 7 to 12.
After returning from the conference, Bay Area agencies, like the AIDS Project of the East Bay (APEB), held a press conference reporting how the AIDS stigma plagues communities of color in the United States. Speakers and community members compared notes about how the USAID conference’s discoveries made an impact on the communities of color both stateside and globally.
Facts that surfaced from the USAID report were alarming. According to census data and health professional projections, life expectancies will drop in 51 countries by 2010. Residents of Thailand, Cambodia and Burma will have lost between two and five years of life expectancy. Some 96 percent of the world’s cases will be in Asia and Africa.
The report from USAID covered over 200 presentations made by health professionals from various countries. Speakers covered different aspects of the illness and its treatment, including research into vaccines and microbiocides, to the best ways to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV and how to reduce stigma in people living with HIV.
Said Ignatius Bau, deputy director of the Asian and Pacific Islander Health Forum in Oakland: “The epidemic is moving deeper into Africa, Eastern Europe and into China and India. There was a lot of discussion of what we need to do in terms of the prevention side and health education and outreach to people who are at risk as well.”
The USAID conference revealed that HIV/AIDS has disproportionately infected African American and Latino communities, though Asian Pacific Americans are not immune from infection.
According to Dr. Robert Scott, a private practitioner in Oakland, there are 10 APA clients among his over 400 HIV/AIDS patients. Commented Scott: “People like to be viewed in a positive light, and this is often not the case once revealed that they have this virus. And, this prejudice knows no boundaries … it is prevalent among all communities, particularly communities of color.”
The stigma is overwhelming. Scott points out that psychosocial issues such as fear prevent people from being tested. “The claim is made that 50 percent of the people in this country who are HIV [positive] don’t even know it,” Scott said. “Fewer number of Asians don’t see themselves at risk, so fewer are tested.”
Philip Hwang, HIV program coordinator at Asian Health Services in Oakland, educates the Oakland Chinatown community and agrees with Scott. He points out that people are afraid to talk about sexuality, bisexuality, homosexuality and drug use.
“When you can’t talk about those things, you can’t talk about HIV,” Hwang said. “It’s denial.”
During the APEB news conference, Hwang spoke of the number of Burmese refugees infected with HIV in the United States. According to Hwang, 19 out of 100 Burmese refugees who live in the States are infected. Making matters worse, the government has cut the HIV prevention budget by 4 million dollars.
“The pressing issue is the number of refugees that are in the country, and more are coming with HIV,” Hwang said. “Asians see it as a Western evil. It’s not a coincidence that communities hit by HIV are disenfranchised from both the mainstream white communities and their own communities.”
Bau argues that the main message is that it’s a global pandemic and that the United States is not insulated. “The message is that it’s affecting our home country, and given the migration of Asian Americans to and from home countries, this is going to continue to be an issue that affects those living in America.”
AHS is currently working on outreach in the streets, sewing factories, massage parlors, gay bathhouses and on the Internet, yet there seems to be a lack of resources to effectively target immigrant populations, especially for language-specific targeting.
“Chinese immigrants are interested in sex and want to know about sex,” Hwang observes. When you scratch the surface [in discussion], the whole dam breaks open. On the surface, there is a lot of denial, giggling and discomfort around those issues, but once you give them the opportunity, they will talk about sex.”
Scott warned, “The message needs to made clear. The bottom line is this: Everyone who is sexually active is at risk of HIV, period. I argue no matter what the race, class, economic income, level of education — anyone who is sexually active should be tested.”
Reach Ji Hyun Lim at jlim@asianweek.com.
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