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Back to HIV/AIDS

USPACOM Regional HIV/AIDS Initiative

The number of cases of HIV/AIDS is rapidly increasing in the Asia Pacific/South Asia Region. This vast and diverse region contains a variety of AIDS epidemics, and South/South -East Asia is experiencing a higher total of HIV infections and annual AIDS deaths than any region except Sub-Saharan Africa (UNAIDS).   USPACOM Combatant Commander and Command Surgeon have oversight responsibility for the US Department of Defense's HIV/AIDS Prevention Program executed within its Area of Responsibility, which includes countries in North East Asia, South East Asia, South Asia, and Oceania.  COE, a Direct Reporting Unit to PACOM, has the military and civilian contacts, expertise, and experience in the region to seek and facilitate HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention education efforts among the theater's military partners. COE as the lead agent (selected by PACOM J-07, Command Surgeon) organizes and executes these efforts in conjunction with partnering organizations.  Proposals are submitted by USPACOM/COE and funding is provided by the Defense Department HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP) See http://www.nhrc.navy.mil/programs/dhapp/background.html.

The COE is in a position to facilitate education, training, and research within the Asia Pacific region because of its congressional mandate and its relationships with militaries, in particular, with peacekeepers and peacekeeping.  Regional actions need to be taken to highlight the linkage between HIV/AIDS and regional security and to challenge and counter the growth of the epidemic.  Therefore, the PACOM Regional HIV/AIDS Initiative was proposed and initiated as a timely strategy to leverage established working relations between military partners and civilian experts, access to technical expertise in the field, facilitation, and training.  The intent is to afford military coalition partners the ability to address HIV/AIDS within their respective militaries and their countries.

Activities that illuminate COE's HIV/AIDS initiative include supporting Regional Training Center, organizing educational seminars and workshops, supporting the development of country-level military HIV/AIDS policies, programs, action plans, and strategies for resource mobilization, and facilitating adaptation of existing curriculum materials for HIV/AIDS education for both trainers, military personnel, and peacekeeping forces. The Initiative is a shared effort.

Goals for the Initiative

• Prevent the transmission of HIV within the military sector;
• Prevent infected hmilitary personnel from spreading HIV to the civilian population;
• Improve the overall ability of the military to perform peacekeeping responsibilities and to protect the civilian population;
• Enhance military partners' skills in advocacy, prevention, and research for sustained HIV/AIDS prevention activities;
• Promote, cultivate, and enhance working military partnerships with civilian agencies, donors, and community groups in HIV/AIDS prevention;
• Promote an environment that supports HIV/AIDS prevention and care in complex emergencies.

Goals:

• To achieve progressively lower incidence and prevalence rates among military personnel in the region;
• To affect HIV/Sexually Transmitted Illnesses (STI)-related behavior change within the military forces and, especially, the peacekeeping contingents from the Asia Pacific region;
• To reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS infections to members of the national military, peacekeeping forces and, through them, the vulnerable populations;
• To build a cadre of military medical regional experts that can augment existing HIV/AIDS mitigation efforts.

2004-05 Executed Events

• COE HIV / AIDS Executed Events:
  • Jan/Feb- HIV Planning trips to Vietnam and India
  1. Plan for execution of HIV Training (Policy and Technical Training Workshops)
  • March - Initial installation of MIHE lab equipment, Hanoi, VN
  1. Standing up lab capacity in Hanoi with Vietnamese Military
  2. 2. Educating staff through laboratory workshop
  • March - HIV/AIDS Education and Counseling Training, Bangkok
    1. Multinational effort - 12 countries, 22 military medical participants.
    2. Includes hands-on counseling sessions.
• April - HIV/AIDS Policy Training, Hanoi
  1. Builds policy development capacity
  2. 100+ participants
• May - Asia Pacific Military Medical Conference, Brisbane
  1. Largest Military Medical Conference annually.
  2. 38 countries, 300+ participants (included Flag & General officers)
• July - XV International AIDS Conference, Bangkok
• Sept - HIV/AIDS Prevention/VCT Training, Hanoi
1. 80+ Participants
• August - HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Training, Hanoi
• August - HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education, and Senior Level Training, Pune, India
1. 300+ participants
2. Multilateral conference with over 12 countries
• Sept.- HIV/AIDS Policy Training, Bangkok
  1. 17 countries, 30 participants
  2. Policy Development skills and accommodative sessions
• Dec - HIV/AIDS Regional Counseling and Education Training, Bangkok, Thailand
  1. 16 countries, 28 participants.
  2. Second Counseling training in series. Accommodative skills training.
• March, 2005 - HIV/AIDS Regional Treatment and Care Training
  1. 17 countries, 34 participants
  2. Clinical update and capacity building.
• June, 2005 - Planned execution of regional training, Bangkok.

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Photo by Scott Giberson