On November 29, 2007, Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group (TTAG) in collaboration with Human Rights Watch (HRW) released their report, “Deadly Denial: Barriers to HIV/AIDS Treatment for People Who Use Drugs in Thailand.” The 57-page report documents a range of human rights violations, including clinician denial of ART to people who use drugs (including methadone, in some cases) and police interference with harm reduction services, and makes recommendations to the government of Thailand, the United Nations, the USA and international donors. The report can be downloaded in English or Thai at:  http://www.hrw.org/reports/2007/thailand1107/

In December 2007, TTAG opened its first satellite office, in Chiang Mai district center. Currently staffed by Mr. Bunniam Wongjaikam  , former chairman of the Thai Network of PLWHA (TNP+) – Upper North. Activities include working with people in prison and local and national government actors to improve access to HIV/AIDS treatment and harm reduction services for people in closed settings and in the community, and helping to document and archive PLWHA histories and experiences as part of a multi-media, peer-driven national-level TTAG project in collaboration with ACT UP-New York activist filmmaker, James Wentzy (see below).

TTAG and six partner groups in Central, Southern and Northeast Thailand, have documented their experiences of working together to develop a model of peer-to-peer empowerment for advocacy. The report, 80 pages filled with personal testimony, interviews and pictures, will be released in January 2008.

James Wentzy, long-time AIDS activist and filmmaker from New York City, has joined TTAG for four months to initiate a multi-media documentary and archiving project on the histories, experiences and visions of PLWHA activists, old and new. James, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, will work with TTAG and local PLWHA partners to provide cameras and train people living with HIV/AIDS in regions across Thailand in basic interviewing and filming, and help develop a Thai-language web site where documented material will be publicly accessible.

For further information on these and other TTAG activities, please contact:
Karyn Kaplan, karyn@ksc.th.com