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What would a 'stronger prevention campaign' look like? Ideas?

I never thought I would see this kind of rational criticism of Suu Kyi: "Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is a far cry from Thailand’s Mr Condom and is more likely to strut the world stage with her message of compassion than the backstreets of Yangon. It is also worth mentioning that her message is one of compassion focused on acceptance of those living with HIV-AIDS, rather than a banner-waving campaign to promote condom use, HIV testing and changes in sexual behavior."

Jamie

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Prevention rather than cure
Mizzima Business Weekly
13 December 2013

Myanmar needs to do more to tackle its HIV-AIDS challenge and it needs the commitment of more government and high-profile personalities promoting a dual message of warning and acceptance. Many countries have gone through a period of denial, playing down the problem, only to find the number of HIV cases has risen dramatically because they had failed to devote enough resources publicity and prevention. This is particularly true in countries in Africa, but also in Asia, in India and Bangladesh, where the underground truck-stop sex culture and back-street prostitution scenes see little in the way of condom-use awareness.

It was encouraging that opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called for an end to discrimination against HIV-positive people on World AIDS Day during her recent visit to Australia. “The fight against discrimination is an extension of our fight for freedom from fear,” the UNA IDS global advocate said in Melbourne. “My simple message as the global ambassador for zero discrimination is it all starts in the mind and in the heart. There must be less calculation and more warmth, more love, more affection, more compassion.” Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is a  wellplaced advocate to highlight the issue on both the levels of prevention and treatment, though perhaps it is easer for her to speak about the issue abroad than at home, where HIV-AIDS needs far more attention if it is not to become an epidemic.

The Myanmar authorities recognize there is a problem but could be trying harder to find a solution. They would do well to reflect to Thailand’s response to HIV-AIDS. When it first emerged in Thailand in the 1980s, the government was in denial, partly because of embarrassment – sexually transmitted diseases not being the subject of polite conversation – and partly because of concern about the impact the news would have on the country’s tourism industry, one of its biggest income earners. If it was a problem, said Bangkok, it was not a problem for mainstream society.

Luckily, Thailand had an outspoken, publicity savvy advocate in Meechai Virayaidya, or “Mr Condom”, as he was dubbed, an NGO activist and politician,  who literally took to the streets to promote condom use and the acceptance of those living with HIV. He walked around with banners and supporters handing out condoms, raised the issue in many public forums, and established a chain of restaurants called “Cabbages and Condoms”, where condoms instead of sweets were given out at the end of the meal. His campaigning and the belated efforts of the Thai government contributed to a sharp fall in the HIV  infection rate in Thailand.

There are similarities between Myanmar’s sexual culture and that of Thailand two decades ago, with sexual issues being kept hidden for cultural reasons in a society with a growing and unregulated sex industry. Some might claim that Myanmar’s more conservative attitudes to sex is to its advantage, but the Thai example is a strong argument for the efficacy of confronting the issue honestly and publicly.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is a far cry from Thailand’s Mr Condom and is more likely to strut the world stage with her message of compassion than the backstreets of Yangon. It is also worth mentioning that her message is one of compassion focused on acceptance of those living with HIV-AIDS, rather than a banner-waving campaign to promote condom use, HIV testing and changes in sexual behavior.

Myanmar needs a stronger prevention campaign as well as a more compassionate response to those living with HIV-AIDS, many of whom endure cruel stigmatization borne of ignorance and irrational fear. Failure to act now will have dire consequences in the future.

http://www.mizzima.com/opinion/ed-op/item/10733-prevention-rather-than-cure