How far fight against AIDS has come

Today, December 1, is World AIDS Day.

The worldwide theme this year is focusing on how to achieve an "AIDS-free generation".

According to a recent report on the Voice Of America (VOA) broadcast, the United Nations predicts that if prevention and treatment services are scaled up, the epidemic will no longer be a global threat in 15 years.

However, if the goals are not met, the pandemic could worsen, warns the UN.

The Washington-based international radio broadcaster went on to point out that in 1984, there were no drugs targeting HIV and AIDS.

Today, however, more than 30 are available.

Speaking on VOA, Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, described the progress in controlling HIV/AIDS as “extraordinary”.

He said if a 25-year-old man or woman, for example, was put on anti-retroviral drugs relatively early in the course of his infection – he could live an additional 50 years if he continued to use the drug.

The HIV/AIDS expert of more than three decades described this as "one of the most extraordinary accomplishments in biomedical research in translation", concluded the VOA report.

Meanwhile, while AIDS became known in the United States in the early 1980s, the first reported case in Malaysia was in 1986.

It was a year before Pink Triangle (PT) – now known as PT Foundation – started providing counselling and social support services for the gay community in the country.

I asked Raymond Tai, marketing and communications director of Pink Triangle Foundation, to describe what the situation was like then.

"The Internet was still very much in its infancy and a new thing with not a lot of data, especially on AIDS and HIV," he says.

"And the only way to get the right kind of information and support was to call up the counselling telephone line that was managed by the trained volunteers from PT.”

Tai went on to point out that although Pink Triangle was originally set up to address gender identity and sexual orientation, the onset of HIV/AIDS changed the agenda to also include providing much-needed information on the disease.

"Just as in America, there were a lot of paranoia and ignorance about AIDS here, too.

"Because it was seen initially as a gay disease, there was a lot of demonising of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons," says Tai, who has been working full time with PT Foundation since 2007 and has been volunteering there for more than 20 years.

"Today, things are better. People are not as ignorant about HIV/AIDS as they once were.

"The irrational fear from society is far less. For instance, there is no longer talk about our authorities wanting to send people with HIV or AIDS away to an island in order to isolate them.

"There are also more medical opportunities now to be treated for the condition where it is no longer seen as a death sentence leading to a painful death. Although there is still no cure, it is now more of a chronic illness with improved ways on how to treat it."

Tai says what is regrettable and negative is that there is now a state campaign to demonise LGBT, sex workers, drug users and other groups who are most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS.

"Many of them are vulnerable because of their lifestyles and need help because they do not have enough education on how to stay safe and not become a victim. This is the same for drug users and others who are in the high risk list in getting HIV/AIDS."

Because of this, this time, PT Foundation decided to take its education campaign this past weekend to more popular places such as KL Sentral and Nu Sentral in Kuala Lumpur.

It turned out to be a carnival mall event, which the organisers hailed as "a huge success".

"The public need to get tested. This is to know their status. If they have been infected, it is important to seek treatment at once so that they can have a normal life."

Tai cautions that for those who don't know they are positive and refuse to test themselves, it will only be a question of time before they develop AIDS.

And by waiting until then, it will be difficult to treat the disease.

HIV remains just as a virus inside the body. It will continue to multiply and ravage the body's immune system so that there is no way for it to protect itself from opportunistic infections that invade the body.

Some of these symptoms include pneumonia, tuberculosis and skin cancer.

The patient then becomes so sick that he or she will have to go to a hospital and only then discover that he has AIDS.

HIV and AIDS can vary from person to person from six months to more than 15 years – from the moment they contract the HIV virus to the time they develop full-blown AIDS.

Testing is important because during this time, infected persons can pass on the virus to sexual partners or through needles with partners.

"The PT Foundation is the only non-governmental organisation that provides community-based HIV testing and counselling. All testing are fully anonymous: no name or identity card number is required. Everything is strictly confidential and performed in a totally non-judgmental manner."

According to him, PT Foundation's service also provides a full follow-up service for those who test positive.

HIV-antigen tests, as well as syphilis tests, use rapid test kits with results produced within one hour. They are performed by volunteers and counsellors who are trained by doctors and professionals counsellors arranged by PT Foundation.

For information, contact Raymond Tai at: [email protected].

To find out what is happening for World AIDS Day, please visit here. – December 1, 2014.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.