“Getting to Zero” Strategy for HIV/AIDS

"Getting to Zero" Strategy for HIV/AIDS

In January 2012, the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health’s Department of Disease Control and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) organized a series of talks on the “Getting to Zero” strategy.

“Getting to Zero” is the theme selected by the World AIDS Campaign to commemorate 2011’s World AIDS Day on 1st December. Echoing UNAIDS vision of achieving “Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths,” the theme is an overall agenda for responding to HIV in the next five years.

"Getting to Zero" Strategy for HIV/AIDS

The session on “overview of getting to zero” took place on 9th January at the Ministry of Health’s Department of Disease Control; the session on “zero new infection” on 16th January at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration; the session on “zero AIDS-related death” on 23th January at Chulalongkorn Hospital; and the session on “zero stigma and discrimination” on 30th January at the Ministry of Health’s Department of Disease Control.

The talk sessions witnessed much enthusiasm from speakers and attendants. It was refreshing to see people from many walks of life such as media and entertainment businesses, people living with HIV, HIV/AIDS experts and policy makers come together to voice their opinions and brainstorm ideas to move Thailand toward zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related death and zero stigma and discrimination toward those living with HIV.

A summary (in Thai) from the talk sessions is available and can be downloaded here.

HIV-NAT, the subunit of the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre, welcomes the strategy and looks forward to working with the Ministry of Public Health, BMA, UNAIDS and others to ensure that everyone can access the care and support that they need by 2015.