Nine (9) IPPF Member Associations met in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 25-28 October 2010 for the inaugural ESEAOR Regional HIV Competencies Workshop. These Workshops offer an opportunity for participating Member Associations and the Regional Office to align HIV strategies to the key priorities outlined in IPPF’s strategic framework and to tailor effective, practical responses that best address each country’s unique HIV epidemic. The Workshop in Cambodia aimed to build the competency of ESEAOR’s HIV Global and Intensive Focus countries as well as to cultivate and promote a learning and sharing environment across the MAs in ESEAOR, specifically in relation to HIV responses.

Conversations centered on building and applying strong evidence to inform programming in particular when linking SRH and HIV responses. Addressing the SRH and HIV needs of key populations, including sex workers, people living with HIV and men who have sex with men (MSM) were one of the key thematic areas for this workshop. Participants engaged in dialogue with activists from these populations and visited one of RHAC clinics in Phnom Penh to observe the model used to provide integrated SRH and HIV services for the local MSM and transgender community. Stigma and discrimination remain one of the biggest obstacles in our response to the HIV epidemic in the region, and this is apparent in laws and policies that limit our ability to effectively conduct HIV programming for those most in need.

The next Regional HIV Competencies Workshop is planned to take place in Busan, South Korea from 18-20 August 2011, prior to the International Conference on HIV and AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP).