Huddling in Bogor to Deliver a Bouncing 'Baby'

I've just spent three days holed up in a resort in Bogor, about an hour from Jakarta ( in good traffic, which isn't often) putting together, along with almost 40 other colleagues, the next AIDS conference in Bali. We've been sifting through hundreds and hundreds of abstracts, the brief descriptions of studies and projects which potential speakers send in, to construct the programme of the conference. Some abstracts are very good cutting-edge stuff, some are the same-old, same-old. Some are very well-written and methodical, especially those by academics and very experienced conference people. Some are more raw and unformed but contain the gems of real-life experience; these are often by community people, those most affected by the epidemic all over Asia, and of course those living with the virus itself. (If you want to know more about the conference, please take a look at the 9th ICAAP website.)

I must admit to one disappointment; there really aren't many submissions from Malaysia. I don't know whether it's because few people do any research in Malaysia or, few people submit their abstracts, or the quality of those submitted were just too low to be accepted. But what is clear is that there will indeed be very few Malaysians who will be presenting their work or experience in Bali this August.

I've been working on these conferences for ten years now. In 1999, the 5th ICAAP was held in KL and I had the honour of chairing it. At that time, there was an economic crisis and Malaysia was only just beginning to talk about AIDS openly. But we pulled it off; 3400 delegates came from all over Asia and the Pacific.

But more importantly, there were two important outcomes of that conference. One was that it gave rise to the first ASEAN leaders' special session on HIV/AIDS in Brunei in 2001 which was the first time that all the heads of ASEAN governments discussed the epidemic and pledged to work together to manage it. And secondly, it led to Malaysia looking at our trade agreements to see if we could do compulsory licensing of the antiretroviral drugs in order to make treatment cheaper for Malaysians living with HIV. Today the Malaysian government provides free first-line antiretroviral treatment to its citizens living with HIV through our public hospitals.

Since then, the ICAAP has taken place in Melbourne in 2001, in Kobe, Japan in 2005, in Colombo in 2007 and this year in Bali. I've worked on all of them, mostly on behalf of the AIDS Society of Asia and the Pacific which is the convenor of the Conference. Despite the many difficulties that come up when trying to organise these conferences -- 9/11 in the case of Melbourne, SARS in the case of Kobe and potential civil war in the case of Colombo --they have been able to bring together everyone working in or interested in HIV/AIDS in our part of the world to share new knowledge, discuss issues, network and provide support to one another while working in this very difficult field. I have to add that some of the people I worked with in these conferences are no longer around, having succumbed to the various diseases associated with AIDS.

Not that these conferences are ever depressing. On the contrary, they are often joyous, energising and empowering get-togethers. We get to hear about many successful campaigns and take heart from them. We get to listen to wonderful speakers who inspire us to continue our work and strive to do better. We get to meet a wide variety of people who we might not have ever imagined meeting and finding things in common with. I have sometimes told newbies to the ICAAP that going to this conference is a bit like entering the bar in the first Star Wars movie. It's full of wierd and wonderful creatures but if you can get past the strangeness, you'll find plenty in common.

So as the days get nearer to the day the conference opens on August 9, life will get busier and busier. But it's a bit like having a baby. After a while, you can't turn back and just have to carry on til you deliver a bouncing baby you'll be proud of. So you'll have to excuse me if sometimes I go quiet for a while; it just means I'm huddled with the Local Organising Committee in Jakarta and Bali working to put a great conference together. Watch this space for more news to come!



Meanwhile, just before I left for Bogor, I went to a special event. My fellow blogger, Raden Galoh aka Dalilah Tamrin has a wonderful blog called OneBreastBouncing. Dalilah is a cancer survivor, yet there could not be a cheerier person. Her blog is one great read as she describes what it's like to live with breast cancer and have a family and a career as well. Last Monday, Dalilah's book, Kanser Payudara Ku – Perjuangan & Kesedaran (Tinta Publications), was launched at the KL Book Fair. It describes her journey with the disease and also has many tips for other breast cancer survivors on how to cope with living with it. Dalilah is another of those inspiring people, ever willing to share her experience with others if it helps them.

OK folks, home tomorrow. Will catch up with everything again soon!