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Tri Do and Vincent Anthony Christo Somo pose after a plenary luncheon. Photos by Ji Hyun Lim.

Ground Breaking HIV/AIDS Conference Brings Asians Together

By Ji Hyun Lim
AsianWeek Staff Writer

The American Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR) collaborated with San Francisco’s Asian Pacific Islander Wellness Center on a three-day conference called Asian and Pacific Islander Summit on HIV/AIDS Research (A&PI SHARE) at the Oakland Marriott, Nov. 15 to 17.

This conference was slated to introduce and re-familiarize the Asian Pacific American community to the growing need for HIV/AIDS research care and prevention, both here, and in developing countries.

Some 350 people from health industries, government, non-governmental organizations and academia participated in the conference. Guamanians, Australians, Bangladeshis and other internationals flew out to this groundbreaking conference to forge relationships and develop partnerships in order to educate and raise awareness about the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

“It’s more for us to understand the emerging needs of immigrants concerning the HIV/AIDS issue through this dialogue exchange and also for us to understand what’s going on in other Asian countries and how difficult it is for us to access basic health care,” Denise Tang, associate director of community services at API Wellness Center, said.

The conference opened up with a Hawaiian chant by Tatiana Kaneholani, lei holder Melenie Eleneke, presenter Alohalani Alapai and kahili bearers Tim Keola and John Kim. Frank Wong, associate research professor of George Washington University, as well as other speakers in the field of health, spoke about the importance of HIV/AIDS education and research.

The following day, four concurrent workshops dealt in-depth with topics such as research abroad, gender dimensions, access to care and treatment, community partnership and research, cultural sensitivity and substance abuse.

Lourdes Marin and Mariko Iwamoto were the leaders of a workshop about “HIV/AIDS Research Initiated by Persons Living with HIV/AIDS in the Asia Pacific Region.” During the session, the panelists spoke of the growing vulnerability of migrant workers in the Pacific Rim to HIV/AIDS.

Gauri Bhattacharya, Mark Edburg and Lina Sheth discuss the sociocultural context of immigration and HIV/AIDS research.

Said Marin: “These women have little political voice, are subjected to racism, discrimination and are faced with the three Ds: dirty, demanding and dangerous work.”

Marin points out that these women tend to fall in extremely harsh conditions, into which physical health is neglected. These women are more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infection due to low condom use, the feelings of invincibility to HIV/AIDS that prevail in some countries and lack of education about HIV/AIDS.

“The challenges are that migration is part of the culture,” Marin said. “The voices of migrant workers have to be strong to negotiate for better policies and protective measures.”

Mariko Norimoto, who received her Masters degree in psychology from San Francisco State University, presented research on Japanese tourists in Bangkok. According to Norimoto, there have been 1,900 AIDS cases reported in Japan — many of these cases contracted by heterosexual businessmen who participated in “sex tours” in Thailand.

In light of these statistics, Norimoto and colleagues took a random, stratified sampling of 150 backpackers over 18 years old who visited a single street in Bangkok and stayed in guesthouses. The survey showed that many of those sampled were more likely to use protection for intercourse in Thailand than in Japan and less likely to use condoms when engaging in oral sex. Frequency of condom use was directly related to people’s perception of how safe their casual sex partners were.

Other workshops discussed the role of social and cultural sensitivity when discussing sex openly. Panelist Mark Edberg, researcher for Development Services Group, and Lina Sheth, associate director of research and technical assistance for the API Wellness Center, presented breakthrough research methodologies for dealing with communities where sexual discussion is taboo.

“Comfort level in discussing HIV/AIDS was minimal,” Sheth remarked, regarding her research on Cambodian Americans in Lowell, Mass. “There were low levels of HIV testing and [subjects] were scared of health clinics. There is also a paradox that these communities are searching for ways to communicate and care for each other.”

The three-day conference was broken up with plenary lunches featuring speakers who spoke of the personal challenges of living with HIV/AIDS and the use of community resources. Others presented a research perspective on the disease. Afterwards, business cards were exchanged, tears were shed and friendships were built.

“In the future we want to have more of this resource sharing, more intentional dialogue with international folks and local folks,” Tang said. “I think we’re going toward more international collaboration and developing partnerships to share resources — especially in API populations with immigrants and refugees.”

Reach Ji Hyun Lim at jlim@asianweek.com.