Key affected populations and communities must be engaged in making decisions on developing, designing, implementing and evaluating HIV policies and programmes, ‘Nothing about Us without Us’. “Let’s mobilize, get organized, and strategize! Let us unite in all our diversity.” These are combined voices from the Community Forum comprising of civil society representatives from the Asia Pacific region together with experts, donors, human rights activist and other stakeholders.

The Community Forum is a pre-ICAAP space for community networking, discussion and strategising. It aims to ensure that people’s voices, needs and issues are heard and addressed in the Congress. Organised by the Coalition of Asia Pacific Regional Networks on HIV/AIDS (7 Sisters), this year's Community Forum focuses on discussions and strategizing around three critical issues: 1) Access to Prevention and Care, 2) Treatment as Prevention 3) Human Rights and Social Protection.

The full day event on Thursday (August 25, 2011) consisted of plenary discussions and community breakout workshops. The breakout sessions represents each of these population groups: PLHIV, Youth, MSM and LGBT, PUD, Migrant, Women, Sex workers and Interfaith. On Friday, representatives from each population will report back from the breakout sessions. A collective statement representing all communities will be adopted at the end of the forum.

The Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM) MSM meeting highlights HIV and syndemic issues that increase the risk and vulnerabilities of MSM and transgender people in the region. The focus is ‘Beyond Numbers – Getting to Zero’, what are the forces driving HIV among MSM and transgender people in Asia Pacific.

John Rock adviser with APN + (Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS) voices his concern at the Community Forum, “the community is concerned about the free trade agreement (FTA) currently under negotiation between India and European Union, this threatens the production of generic medicines which will among others affect HIV patients. The EU-India draft FTA, as it stands, places trade interests over human rights, there is an immediate need for global action to ensure affordable access to treatment.”

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