IN THE GRIP OF AIDS PART II 
Aids association defends its campaign methods and work

By Ng Wan Ching

THEIR advertisements to promote safe sex are so sexy, they've made some people blush.

Does Action for Aids (AFA) really need to titillate?

This question was raised by Senior Minister of State for Health Balaji Sadasivan.

He felt there was a need to recognise the conservative among us, and an in-your-face approach was not necessarily the best way to educate people.

Mr Brenton Wong, vice-president of AFA, sees it differently. He feels that people do have sex, so why be coy about telling them to do it safely?

'Every one of the ads grabs attention. They get people talking, and they get the message across,' said Mr Wong.

AFA volunteers hand out HIV/Aids materials to as many people as they can. They also give out condoms to freelance sex workers.

And they run a website with statistics and information on the latest developments in HIV. Their aim, they say, is to educate people to help prevent the spread of the disease; not to promote promiscuous behaviour.

It might seem harsh to the only volunteer group here that has done anything to help HIV/Aids patients to be told that their efforts over the past 16 years were not 'tough' or good enough. But AFA members are not complaining.

Mr Wong said 'We have carried on this cause for so long, with very little help from anyone except our volunteers. We raise all our own money and help to subsidise some Aids patients.'

The AFA has just three full-time employees and about 100 volunteers, and the picture they paint is worrying.

Endowment fund

Over the years, AFA has managed to raise over $800,000. 'That money is put in a fund and gives us interest of about $60,000 a year, which we use to subsidise HIV/Aids patients,' said Mr Wong.

But the patients the AFA helps in this way are not guaranteed money every month. A ballot is held every three months among 200 to 300 patients whom the AFA has shortlisted for the subsidy. Only 20 will get the $200 subsidy a month.

No HIV patient in Singapore gets any government subsidy for anti-retroviral medication. 

Cheaper treatment alternatives

HIV/Aids patients here have to pay $1,200 a month for the triple cocktail medication that helps keep Aids at bay.

The AFA has been directing patients to Thailand for consultations and to buy generic triple cocktail medication.

'They can see an infectious diseases expert at the Bumrungrad Hospital for the same amount as at the Communicable Disease Centre.

'With a doctor's prescription, the generic triple cocktail can be obtained from any Thai government pharmacy for just $60 a month - a fraction of the $1,200 they would have to pay here,' said Mr Wong. 

Helping pregnant women with HIV

'In Singapore, it has been shown that if a pregnant, HIV-positive woman is treated, the risk of transmitting the virus to the child is negligible. With no treatment, there is a one-third chance that the baby will be infected. With medication, it's pushed down to 7 or 8 per cent,' said Mr Wong. Working with youth

Globally, half the number of people infected are below the age of 25, said Mr Roger Winder, AFA's programme director. Singapore is no different.

'More young people are getting infected. Teens are having sex without condoms. In schools, teachers are not trained to talk about such issues.

'We try to teach teens to deal with peer pressure and having sex. Youth are reckless. They think they will live forever,' said Mr Winder.

Mr Wong said 'We get them to talk to their peers, to be aware that they are vulnerable to HIV. The message is, as long as you are sexually active, use a condom. Otherwise don't have sex.' 

Batam project

The AFA reaches out to sex workers and their clients in Batam (which has the highest incidence of Aids in Indonesia), educating them on the perils of unprotected sex. 

Patient support groups

These groups meet regularly, often with a medical social worker or counsellor, to talk about their problems and fears.

There are about 4,000 to 5,000 people known to have HIV/Aids here. And the rate of infection is estimated to be 0.2 per cent. In the US, the rate of infection is 0.1 per cent.

'We are double other developed countries' figures,' said Mr Wong.

His plea to the authorities 'Give us more resources. Have dialogues with us and help to link us up to other ministries and NGOs who can help.'