Positive Life NSW

Laos

Robert Baldwin on the Laos Network of Positive People

Laos is a relatively small country of just over six million people in what is called the Mekong River Sub Region of South-East Asia. The Laos PDR (People’s Democratic Republic) has a socialist government with the resulting outcomes like a very limited organized community sector. The country is largely rurally village based with a small capital city of Vientiane located on the banks of the Mekong River bordering Thailand. Vientiane is a delightful mix of French colonial and Laotian building and cultural styles. The coffee and baguettes are fabulous!

Although HIV has perhaps had less impact on Laos than its neighbours, like Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, the effect is still marked, especially for a country that is relatively economically poor with a very limited capacity within its health and social welfare systems. UNAIDS in 2005 estimated the number of people living with HIV in Laos to be 3,700 people (adult prevalence rate approximately 0.1% www.unaids.org).

It was my fourth visit to Laos and this time I felt a greater appreciation for the calmness and friendliness of the country and its people. It was also good to be working with local colleagues who I have now known for many years, along with one Thai worker, Boum, from APN+ (Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS www.apnplus.org). One of our main tasks was to complete an in-country follow-up of a regional meeting held in mid-2006 in Bangkok to develop minimum service standards for PLHIV (People Living with HIV) in the six Mekong Sub-Region countries. APN+ was leading the process of consulting with local positive people on behalf of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (www.aids-alliance.org).

LNP+ (Laos Network of PLHIV) formally commenced operating in early 2005 and is now established in eight provinces and has a formal fourteen member Board. The main aims of LNP+ include:

• Promoting GIPA (greater and more meaningful involvement of PLHIV in all aspects of the HIV response);
• Ensuring PLHIV have equal rights;
• Building partnerships with other HIV focused organisations;
• Improving access to treatment, support and care;
• Strengthening the capacities of all PLHIV.

Boum and I worked with twenty LNP+ positive members, including many from provinces in the north and south of the country, at our one-day meeting in Vientiane. We were seeking their opinions on what are their priorities for minimum service standards which they quite quickly worked out to include increasing access to HIV treatments (ARVs – antiretrovirials are currently only available in two locations in Laos) and information, income generation, non-discriminatory care, skills building and developing peer support systems.

LNP+ is a relatively new national positive network compared to the other 27 national positive networks that make up APN+. The members at the meeting seemed to work well together and displayed a good sense of camaraderie and mutual respect. The games after lunch also showed they knew how to have fun together. Although LNP+ continues to enjoy support from a number of Laos based international organisations, including the Australian Red Cross, it is seen as vital by LNP+ members that the network remains controlled and managed by positive people. LNP+ and APN+, along with their supporters, are planning a number of activities such skills training in reporting, computer operating, communications and English language for the five member LNP+ Steering Committee members and placing an APN+ employed Thai language speaking (Thai and Laos verbal languages have many similarities) positive person within LNP+ for several months to assist with needed internal organisational development and to increase regional collaborations.

Despite all the challenges and barriers faced by positive people in Laos the future is full of many possibilities for LNP+ to help improve the lives of all PLHIV in Laos and contribute significantly to an effective HIV response. LNP+ currently relies on outside financial support to operate and I am sure would warmly welcome support from their positive sisters and brothers in New South Wales.

Robert Baldwin is an APN+ Advisor