Action for AIDS Singapore (‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’, etc.) respects the right of individuals to protect their personal data. This data protection policy:

gives you information about how we collect, use and disclose personal data about you
recognises both your right to protect personal data about you and our need to collect, use or disclose it for purposes that we believe are reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances of our charitable work and
applies to the personal data of all individuals (‘you’, ‘your’, etc.) who are:

our clients
donors to us
our employees, including volunteers
our members, members of the Management Committee, members of any committee(s) formed by us (including any committee(s) formed by our Management Committee) and any other similar individuals
online users of our website

If you are not in any of these categories but we collect, use or disclose personal data about you in the course of our charitable work this data protection policy will apply to that personal data consistently with the way in which it applies to an individual in these categories. If you would like further information about the way in which we collect, use or disclose personal data about you, please do not hesitate to contact our Data Protection Officer (see 11 for contact information).

1. Definitions

‘client’ means any individual to which we provide our services. ‘donor’ means an individual who makes a one-off or occasional or regular financial contributions to us, either directly or indirectly ‘employee’ means any person employed by us on any basis and includes volunteers, members of our Management Committee and members of any committee(s) formed by us. ‘online users’ means anyone who accesses our website. ‘personal data’ means data, whether true or not, about an individual who can be identified:

from that data or
from that data and other information to which we have access or are likely to have access

‘publicly available’, in relation to personal data about you, means personal data that is generally available to the public, and includes personal data which can be observed by reasonably expected means at a location or an event:

at which you appear and
that is open to the public

‘services’ means the education, support and care and advocacy activities that we deliver in Singapore in connection with HIV/AIDS. ‘our website’ means our website at www.afa.org.sg.

2. Purpose(s) for us collecting, using or disclosing personal data

We collect personal data from donors, employees and other individuals and use and/or disclose that personal data so that we are able to provide our services efficiently and effectively and so that we can comply with our legal obligations. Where we obtain your express consent to us collecting, using or disclosing personal data about you (see 3.4), we will first notify you of the purpose(s) for which we collect, use or disclose that personal data. This notification might be more specific than the above statement.

3. Our collection, use and disclosure personal data

3.1 How we collect personal data about you

Where possible, if we collect personal data about you we collect it directly from you. We do this in various ways, including telephone and in-person meetings and interviews, forms and questionnaires.

3.2 Your option not to provide us with personal data about you

If at any time you would prefer not to provide some personal data that we request, either during a discussion or in one of our forms or questionnaires, please let us know. We will explain our purpose for collecting that personal data. If you still do not wish to provide it we will discuss with you whether or not we can proceed without it. We may not be able to do so.

3.3 Consent to us collecting, using or disclosing personal data about you

We collect, use, or disclose personal data about you only if:

you give (see 3.4), or are deemed to have given (see 3.5), your consent under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) to us collecting, using or disclosing that personal data or
collection, use or disclosure by us of that personal data without your consent is required or authorised under the PDPA (see 3.6) or any other written law

3.4 Collecting, using or disclosing personal data about you with your consent

Where we ask you to consent to us collecting, using or disclosing personal data about you (see 3.3) we will first inform you of our purpose(s) for collecting, using or disclosing that personal data. We will do this on or before collecting the personal data. We will not use or disclose personal data about you for any other purpose(s) without first informing you of the additional purpose(s) and getting your consent to us using or disclosing it for the additional purpose(s). We may collect personal data about you from another individual or organisation (such as a hospital social worker) if you have given that other individual or organisation consent that allows it to disclose personal data to us. In that case, we will use or disclose personal data only for the purpose(s) for which the other individual or organisation disclosed it to us.

3.5 Collecting, using or disclosing personal data about you with your deemed consent

You are deemed to have consented to us the collecting, using or disclosing personal data about you for a purpose if:

without actually giving us express consent (see 4), you voluntarily provide the personal data to us for that purpose and
it is reasonable that you would voluntarily provide that personal data

For example, if you seek subsidised testing or treatment or pose for a photograph by our photographer at one of our events you are deemed to have consented to us collecting, using or disclosing the personal data about you that is in the referral or in the photograph (that is, your image). Where you are deemed to have consented to us collecting, using or disclosing personal data about you we will collect, use or disclose that personal data only for the purpose(s) for which you are deemed to have consented to us doing so.

3.6 Collecting, using or disclosing personal data about you without your consent

We are permitted by the PDPA to collect, use or disclose personal data about you without your consent in the following circumstances:

if it is publicly available or if it is business contact information
if there is an emergency
where the disclosure is related to law enforcement or where the collection, use or disclosure is in connection with certain legal issues

If you would like more information about the circumstances under which we may collect, use or disclose personal data without your consent, please contact our Data Protection Officer (see 11).

3.7 Collecting personal data from online users

If you browse our website, we do not currently capture any data that allows us to identify you.

4. Withdrawing your consent to us collecting, using or disclosing personal data about you

4.1 Your right to withdraw consent to us collecting, using or disclosing personal data about you

On giving reasonable notice to us, you may at any time withdraw any consent you have given (see 3.4), or are deemed to have been given under the PDPA (see 3.5), in respect of us collecting, using or disclosing personal data about you for any purpose.

4.2 How to exercise your right to withdraw consent

Any notice of withdrawal of consent (see 4.1) should be given in writing (which includes email) sent to our Data Protection Officer (see 11).

4.3 Our response when we receive your notice of withdrawal of consent

The consequences of you withdrawing consent (see 4.1) to us collecting, using or disclosing personal data about you for any purpose may be onerous for you. Therefore:

we may require you to provide proof of your identity to assure ourselves we are dealing with the correct person and
we will inform you in writing (which may be by email) of the likely consequences of withdrawing your consent for the specified purpose

4.4 Our actions when you withdraw your consent

If, after knowing the consequences of withdrawing your consent to us collecting, using or disclosing personal data about you for any purpose (see 4.3), you still wish to withdraw your consent:

we will cease (and cause any and all of our data intermediaries to cease) collecting, using or disclosing the personal data, unless doing so without your consent is required or authorised under the PDPA or other written law and
we will cease to retain our documents containing that personal data, or remove the means by which the personal data can be associated with you, as soon as it is reasonable for us to assume that retention is no longer necessary for our legal or business purposes

5. Access to and correction of personal data

5.1 Your right to request access and/or information

On request by you, we will as soon as reasonably possible provide you with:

personal data about you that is in our possession or under our control and
information about the ways in which we have, or may have, used or disclosed that personal data within a year before the date of your request

There are some circumstances where we are not required to provide you with information (see 5.5), where we are not allowed to provide you with information (see 5.6) and where we may be able to provide you with limited information (see 5.7).

5.2 How to request access or information

Any request by you for access to personal data about you and/or for information about its use or disclosure by us (see 5) should be made in writing (which includes email) sent to our Data Protection Officer (see 11).

5.3 Our request for proof of your identity

When we receive your request for access to your personal data and/or for information about its use or disclosure by us (see 5) we may require you to provide proof of your identity. This is intended to ensure that access to personal data about you and/or information about its use or disclosure by us is provided only to the correct individual. This is one of the ways we protect personal data about you.

5.4 How we provide you with access and/or information

We will provide you with personal data about you that is in our possession or under our control by providing you with a photocopy or a print out of it. If personal (for example, your name and address details) is duplicated across our databases or files, we will generally provide it once, rather than multiple times.

5.5 When we are not required to provide access or information

In some circumstances, the PDPA does not require us to give you access to your personal data or information about how we have, or may have, used it in within the year before your request (see 5). This includes the following circumstances:

if the request would unreasonably interfere with our operations because of the repetitious or systematic nature of requests from you
if the burden on, or expense to, us of providing access would be unreasonable or disproportionate to your interests
if the information does not exist or we cannot find it
if the information is trivial
if the request is otherwise vexatious or trivial
if we keep or may use the personal data in relation to an investigation or legal proceeding or for purposes otherwise related to legal issues – if you would like more information about this exception, please contact our Data Protection Officer (see 11)

5.6 When we are not allowed to provide access or information

The PDPA does not allow us to give you access to your personal data or information about how we have, or may have, used it in within the year before your request (see 5) in a range of circumstances. These include where our doing so could reasonably be expected to:

threaten the safety or physical or mental health of an individual other than you
cause immediate or grave harm to your safety or to your physical or mental health
reveal personal data about another individual
reveal the identity of an individual who has provided personal data about you and the individual providing the personal data does not consent to the disclosure of their identity

If we have disclosed your personal data to a prescribed law enforcement agency under certain circumstances the PDPA does not allow us to disclose to you that we have done so. If you would like information about the circumstances in which this prohibition applies, please contact our Data Protection Officer (see 11).

5.7 When we may provide limited information only

If we are able to provide you with access to your personal data and information about how we have, or may have, used it within the year before your request (see 5) without the personal data or other information that:

we are not required to provide to you (see 5.5) and/or
we are not permitted to provide to you (see 5.6)

we will provide you with access to your personal data and other information without the information that we are not required and/or permitted to provide to you.

6. Correction of errors in, or omissions from, personal data about you

6.1 Your right to request us to correct personal data

You may request us to correct an error or omission in the personal data about you that we hold or that is under our control. However, there are some circumstances where we do not make a correction (see 6.6) and other circumstances where we are not required to act on such a request (see 6.7).

6.2 How to make a request to correct personal data

Any request by you for us to correct an error or omission in personal data about you (see 6.1) should be made in writing (which includes email) sent to our Data Protection Officer (see 11).

6.3 Our request for proof of your identity

When we receive your request for us to correct an error or omission in personal data about you (see 6.1), we may require you provide proof of your identity and/or documents or other evidence supporting your request.

6.4 When we will correct your personal data

If you request us to correct personal data about you (see 6.1), unless we are satisfied on reasonable grounds that a correction should not be made, we will:

correct the personal data as soon as practicable and
send the corrected personal data to every other organisation to which we have disclosed the personal data within a year before the date we made the correction

However, we do not have to send the corrected personal data to every other organisation if that other organisation does not need the corrected personal data for any legal or business purpose

6.5 Where another organisation notifies us about corrected personal data

Another organisation that has disclosed your personal data to us (for example, a hospital social worker) might notify us that it has corrected personal data about you. If this happens, unless we are satisfied on reasonable grounds that we should not make the correction, we will correct your personal data that is in our possession or under our control.

6.6 Where we do not correct personal data about you

In any case where we are not satisfied that we should correct your personal data (see 6.4 and 6.5) we will:

write to you (which may be by email) to tell you why we have not made the correction and
annotate your personal data in our possession or under our control with the correction that was requested but not made

6.7 When we are not required to correct personal data

The PDPA sets out certain circumstances in which we are not required to correct your personal data. If you would like information about this exception or the other circumstances where correction is not required, please contact our Data Protection Officer (see 11).

7. Accuracy of personal data

We make reasonable efforts to ensure that personal data that we collect about you or that is collected our behalf is accurate and complete if:

we are likely to use that personal data to make a decision that affects you or
we are likely to disclose that personal data to another organisation

8. Protection of personal data

We take reasonable steps to ensure the security of personal data about you that is in our possession or under our control and to protect it against risks such as loss or unauthorised access, destruction, use, modification or disclosure. Only authorised personnel are permitted to have access to personal data about you.

9. Retention of personal data

We cease to retain documents containing personal data about you, or we remove the means by which the personal data can be associated with you, as soon as it is reasonable to assume that:

the purpose for which we collected that personal data is no longer being served by retention of the personal data and
retention is no longer necessary for legal or business purposes

10. Complaints procedure

10.1 Our commitment to handling complaints

We strive for excellence in providing services to our clients and in all our interactions with donors, and with our employees, as well as with the community generally. This includes our compliance with the PDPA.

10.2 How to make a complaint to us about our collection, use or disclosure of personal data about you

Please direct any queries or complaints you have about the way in which we collect, use or disclose personal data about you to our Data Protection Officer (see 11). Generally, we are unable to deal with anonymous complaints because we are unable to investigate them. If you raise a complaint anonymously we will nevertheless note the matter raised and, if possible, try and investigate and resolve it appropriately.

10.3 Providing details of the complaint

Whenever you make a complaint (see 10.2) our Data Protection Officer will seek to obtain sufficient information from you to enable us to investigate it. Please be prepared to provide our Data Protection Officer with information as to, for example:

the type of action, or lack of action, by us that has given rise to your concern
whether it was an isolated incident or is ongoing and, in the case of an isolated incident, when it occurred
a copy of any relevant correspondence you hold and
details about what you consider should have happened or should not have happened

10.4 Resolution of the complaint

Immediately upon receiving a complaint (see 10.2) our Data Protection Officer must investigate it and within two business days advise you of:

the outcome of the complaint and the reasons for that outcome or
write to you (which may be by email) advising you that the Data Protection Officer needs more time to investigate the complaint and stating when the Data Protection Officer expects to have resolved the complaint for you

The Data Protection Officer must in any event complete the investigation of your complaint within 10 business days.

10.5 Communicating the outcome of a complaint to you

If a complaint (see 10.2) is settled to your complete satisfaction, our Data Protection Officer is not required to advise you in writing of the outcome of the complaint, unless you request a written response (which may be by email). If a complaint is not settled to your complete satisfaction, our Data Protection Officer will advise you of the outcome of the complaint and the reason(s) for that outcome in writing (which may be by email). If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you may take your complaint to the Personal Data Protection Commission.

11. Data Protection Officer

We have appointed a Data Protection Officer. To raise any questions or comments you may have about the way we collect, use or disclose personal data and/or about any aspect of this data protection policy and/or to make a complaint about how we have collected, used or disclosed personal data about you, please contact our Data Protection Officer. To contact our Data Protection Officer:

send an email to DPO@afa.org.sg
call +65 6254 0212
write to us at 9 Kelantan Lane #03-01, Singapore 208628

12. Changes to this data protection policy

We reserve the right to review, amend and/or update this data protection policy at any time and from time to time. If we decide to make any changes to this data protection policy, we will post them on our website.

Dr Janil Puthucheary
Senior Minister of State
Ministry of Digital Development and Information,
Ministry of Health

Eliminating HIV in Taiwan: The Challenges of Implementing a PrEP Programm

Ms Susan Huang
Section Chief
Taiwan CDC

The Role of the Community in HIV/STI Testing

Dr Otilia Scutelniciuc
Senior Regional Adviser
(Strategic Information)
UNAIDS

Ageing with HIV

Dr Wong Pui Li
Medical Lecturer
University of Malaya

Introduction

The 14th edition of Singapore AIDS Conference will be held on 30th November 2024. With the theme of “Communities in Action”, we will highlight how communities, healthcare providers, researchers and policy makers can work together to end HIV and STI transmission in Singapore. Join us as we explore how this collaboration extends to the field of HIV prevention, STI prevention, stigma and discrimination, as well as aging with HIV.

Programme Outline

0800-0900	REGISTRATION
0900-0905	WELCOME
0905-0920	OPENING ADDRESS
0920-0930	RED RIBBON PRESENTATION
0930-1045	SESSION 1 Community and HIV/STI Prevention Services
1045-1115	MORNING BREAK
1115-1250	SESSION 2 Community and HIV/STI Testing
1250-1345	LUNCH BREAK Lunch Talk: From Surviving to Thriving: Connecting People With HIV to Care
1345-1525	SESSION 3 Community against Stigma and discrimination
1525-1545	AFTERNOON BREAK
1545-1725	SESSION 4 Living Well with HIV
1725-1730	CLOSING ADDRESS

Co-Organized by:

Supported by:

Sponsered by:

Programme Details

Session 1: Community and HIV/STI Prevention Services

Chair: Dr Choy Chiaw Yee (NCID) Co-Chair Organising Commitee

0935: Keynote 1 - Eliminating HIV in Taiwan: The Challenges of Implementing a PrEP Programme

Ms Susan Huang

Section Chief

Taiwan CDC

Ms. Susan Hsun-Yin Huang currently serves as the Section Chief at the Taiwan CDC, overseeing HIV testing policies and STIs prevention. She holds a degree in Public Health and a Master of Health Policy from National Taiwan University. After passing the national examination, she was appointed to the Taiwan CDC in 2011.

Ms. Huang has devoted herself to initiatives such as HIV self-testing and the PrEP program, as well as the epidemic of COVID-19 comorbidities with HIV. Most recently, she has been actively involved in promoting health awareness regarding Mpox and HIV in Taiwan.

1000: YMSM PrEP Project

Mr Aviel Tan

AfA Volunteer

AfA

Aviel is a graduate of the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he majored in Life Sciences and minored in Public Health. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Cancer Biology at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, under the Cancer Science Institute. His research interests includes immunotherapeutic and viral-related cancers/diseases.

Aviel's public health journey began as an intern at Action for AIDS (AfA) Singapore, where he was responsible for recruiting members of the GBQ community for PrEP studies. His role extended to analyzing and reviewing the collected data for the On-Demand PrEP study.

Passionate about the future of prophylaxis in preventing HIV transmission, Aviel aims to further contribute to the health literacy of Singaporeans by increasing awareness of prophylaxis usage in Singapore.

Dr Lee Pei Hua

Associate Consultant

NCID

Dr Lee Pei Hua is an Associate Consultant Infectious Diseases (ID) Physician at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases and Tan Tock Seng Hospital. She graduated from the University of Manchester, UK in 2012 and gained MRCP (UK) in 2017. She completed her specialist training in ID in 2022. Her areas of interests include HIV treatment and prevention, and sexual health.

1015: Updates on Local STI Epidemiology and STI Prevention

Dr Martin Chio

Senior Consultant

NSC/DSC

Dr Martin Chio is a Senior Consultant Dermatologist at the National Skin Centre Singapore and former Head of the DSC clinic. His clinical interests are STIs, HIV & genital dermatology, qualitative research and skin cancers.

He received his undergraduate training from the University of Bristol, UK and his basic speciality training in Internal Medicine in Singapore. He subsequently completed his advanced speciality training in Dermato-venereology at the National Skin Centre.

He was awarded a National Medical Research Council medical research fellowship as part of the Ministry of Health Health Manpower Development Plan to pursue a Master’s of Science at University College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; he was awarded the 2007 best dissertation prize.

He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London) and the Academy of Medicine Singapore - he was the Chair of the Chapter of Dermatologists (2015 – 2019). He is an avid clinician educator and has been appointed Adj Associate Professor with both the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health & Duke-NUS Medical School, Adj Assistant Professor with the NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Clinical Senior Lecturer with the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine - he was awarded the YLLSOM Dean’s award for Teaching Excellence twice.

He is a visiting consultant with the SAF Medical Corps & Tan Tock Seng Hospital and also an associate mediator with the Singapore Mediation Centre. For his active volunteer work as a visiting dermatologist at both the Dover Park Hospice and Villa Francis home for the aged, he was awarded the Healthcare Humanity Award.

1030: Overview on the Barriers to PrEP Access in Singapore

Dr Rayner Tan

Asst Professor

NUS SSHSPH

Dr Rayner Kay Jin TAN (he/him) is an Assistant Professor at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, where received his PhD. He concurrently holds a position as visiting research fellow at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases in Singapore. His research interests revolve broadly about the social determinants of health, community engagement, implementation science, and health equity of vulnerable communities.

Rayner was a recipient of the Fulbright Visiting Research Scholarship for the academic year 2022/2023 and has received training in implementation sciences as a fellow of the HIGH-IRI program at Washington University in St. Louis. He is currently deputy editor of a leading HIV scientific journal, the Journal of the International AIDS Society, an Academic Editor at PLOS Global Public Health, and a perspectives editor at the BMJ journal, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI). He also actively contributes to the organizing and scientific committees of international HIV and STI-related conferences, including being an organising committee member at the International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference 2023 in Brisbane, organising and scientific committee member for the Asia-Pacific AIDS and Co-Infections Conference (APACC) 2023 (Singapore) and 2024 (Hong Kong), and early career researcher committee co-chair at the International Union Against Sexually Transmitted Infections (IUSTI) World Congress 2024 in Sydney.

He leads several community-based organizations in the region as well. He currently is the president of Project X Society serving the health and social needs of sex workers, and a Director at The Greenhouse Community Services Limited, a charity providing substance use recovery services for marginalized groups in Singapore. He also currently serves as the Treasurer for the Society of Behavioural Health, Singapore and a co-lead at SG Mental Health Matters. He is currently a co-lead of Project Hayat, a community-led initiative to develop a national suicide prevention strategy in Singapore. He is currently a representative on the Ministry of Health Agency for Care Effectiveness (ACE) Consumer Panel.

Session 2: Community and HIV/STI Testing

Chair: Mr Chronos Kwok (AfA) Co-Chair Organising Committee

1115: Keynote 2 - The Role of the Community in HIV/STI Testing

Dr Otilia Scutelniciuc

Senior Regional Adviser

(Strategic Information)

UNAIDS

Dr. Otilia Scutelniciuc, MD, MBA, is the Regional Lead on Data for Impact in the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Asia and the Pacific. She is a medical doctor and public health specialist with nearly 20 years of experience in global health development. In her current role, she oversees the collection and analysis of the region’s most comprehensive collection of data on HIV. Through her leadership of the Data for Impact practice, she advocates for the use of data to strengthen HIV responses and drive progress toward ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

With 14 years at UNAIDS, Otilia has worked at both the regional and country levels, including as a Strategic Information Adviser for Central Asia and Programme Adviser in Tanzania. Her work focused on enhancing data-driven decision-making to inform national HIV strategies and policies.

Before joining UNAIDS, Otilia led the monitoring and evaluation of national health programs in her home country, the Republic of Moldova. Her extensive experience spans the development, implementation, and assessment of health initiatives aimed at improving public health outcomes in diverse global contexts.

1140: Advances on POC and Community Based STI testing

Dr Tay Woo Chiao

Senior Resident

NSC/DSC

Dr. Tay is currently the Chief Resident of the Dermatology Residency Programme in Singapore. He has a strong clinical interest in Venereology and actively volunteers in community efforts to improve sexual health literacy. An enthusiastic learner and advocate for patient-centered care and innovation.

1155: Update on the Singapore HIV Care Cascade 2022

Dr Santhya

Senior Executive

NPHEU

Dr Santhya is a Senior Epidemiologist with the National Public Health Epidemiology Unit (NPHEU) in NCID. She has previously done research on the UNAIDS response to HIV prevalence in third world countries while pursuing her Masters in International Public Health.

Dr Santhya currently manages the National HIV Registry Team within NPHEU which handles the national HIV surveillance & screening programmes, contact tracing and case management operations, oversees data collation for the Registry and conducts statistical analysis mainly in the areas of HIV seroprevalence in key populations and key populations at risk of late-stage diagnosis in Singapore.

The team also initiates and manages process improvement projects and academic studies related to HIV surveillance and epidemiology.

1210: Results from the 10th MSM Seroprevalence Study

Dr Isabel Tavitian-Exley

Principal Epidemiologist

NPHEU

Dr Isabel Tavitian-Exley is an epidemiologist and public health researcher recognised for epidemic analysis and research in the fields of HIV, behavioural epidemiology and Hepatitis in vulnerable populations in Southeast Asia and Europe. She holds a PhD in Infectious Disease Epidemiology from Imperial College, London and MSc from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Prior to joining the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, Singapore, she advised technical agencies including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Joint Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), where she designed and conducted evaluations, research and bio-behavioural surveillance studies of HIV infection, and developed HIV research agendas in Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan.

She contributed to national HIV estimates and projections in collaboration with government, multilateral agencies, academic and non-governmental organisations. Her research focuses on the determinants of HIV infection risk as well as analytical methodologies to better inform and target differentiated interventions.

Mr Chronos Kwok

Executive Director

AfA

Chronos first started as a volunteer with AfA way back in 2005. He was a counsellor at the Anonymous Testing Service and also conducted talks at schools as well as military bases to increase awareness for HIV prevention. He was also actively involved in several fundraising gala events. Prior to becoming to Executive Director, he spent 5 years running the MSM outreach programme and Anonymous Testing Service. During this time, he worked closely with the community to implement effective outreach, testing and research programmes that contribute towards reducing the rate of new infections and advocate against HIV-related stigma.

Chronos strongly believes that more can be done to support marginalized groups in Singapore, to build a more inclusive and compassionate society. Before to joining AfA, Chronos worked many years in the civil service and with a Foundation dedicated to eldercare. He obtained his Master of Social Work from the Singapore University of Social Sciences in 2021.

1225: Achieving the First 90: Insights from Taiwan's HIV Testing Policies and Innovative Testing Programmes

Dr Susan Huang

Section Chief (HIV Testing Policy and Programs)

Taiwan CDC

Session 3: Community against Stigma and discrimination

Chair: Dr Rayner Tan (NUS SSHSPH) Co-Chair Organising Committee

1345: Debate - Foreign workers with HIV should not be allowed to remain in Singapore

Proposition

Dr Edwin Sng

Consultant

CGH

Dr Edwin Sng is an Infectious Diseases consultant at Changi General Hospital where he is the director of the CGH enhanced HIV programme.

Mr Dhanesh Thiru

Research Assistant

NUS

Dhanesh is a early career public health practitioner who is currently a research assistant and MPH student in the Courage Lab at NUS School of Public Health. His areas of interest are in HIV, STI prevention, suicide prevention, migrant health and implementation science, particularly with vulnerable populations in Singapore. Prior to joining the Courage Lab, Dhanesh worked at the Ministry as the policy lead on mental health policies and programmes for migrant workers, observing the intersections of health in manpower and foreign worker space.

Opposition

Dr Teh Yii Ean

Consultant

SGH

Dr. Teh Yii Ean is a consultant in the department of Infectious Diseases at the Singapore General Hospital. She graduated from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore in 2011 and obtained her specialist accreditation in Infectious Diseases in 2017.

She has a keen interest in the management of infections in imunocompromised individuals and is particularly driven to improve the health-related quality of life for people living with HIV by providing patient-centred care. She was awarded the Health Manpower Development Plan Award to pursue further subspecialty training in the management of HIV patients with complex comorbidities and malignancy at the Chelsea and Westminister Hospital in London. She is currently the director of the Singapore General Hospital HIV Clinical Programme and a member of the National HIV Programme.

Dr Ho Lai Peng

Sr Principal MSW

NCID

Dr Ho is a Senior Principal Medical Social Worker at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. She has been a social worker for more than 30 years. She obtained her PhD in social work from the National University of Singapore in 2019.

1415: Employment: HIV Discrimination in Employment and What Can Be Done

Mr Jerry Seah

Senior Director

SNEF

Jerry Seah has been a member of the National HIV Policy Committee since 2013, representing the Singapore National Employers Federation. In this role, he has played a key part in shaping national HIV/AIDS workplace policies. Additionally, Jerry has been actively involved with the ASEAN Business Coalition on HIV-AIDS since 2011. This coalition works to enhance the capacity of employers across ASEAN member states to implement effective HIV/AIDS workplace programs.

Jerry has been instrumental in developing a comprehensive implementation guide for managing HIV/AIDS in the workplace. This guide is structured into three tiers: Tier 1 (education), Tier 2 (supportive environment), and Tier 3 (workplace policies), offering organizations a step-by-step approach to adopting best practices for creating a supportive workplace.

Beyond his professional achievements, Jerry has a notable history of volunteer work. Early in his career, he volunteered at a Patient Care Center for seven years, dedicating his Saturdays to providing massage therapy and emotional support to HIV patients. This long-term commitment underscores his dedication to advocating for individuals affected by HIV/AIDS both professionally and personally.

1430: Exploring the Narratives of Wounded Healers and Peer Supporters in a Substance Recovery Centre

Mr Daniel Ho

Volunteer Clinician, Learning Coordinator

The Greenhouse

Daniel Ho volunteers as a learning coordinator and group supervisor at the The Greenhouse Community Services Ltd, where he provides group supervision for the counsellors, and coordinates the learning programmes within the centre.

Aside from his work as a clinical psychologist in a tertiary healthcare institute, he volunteers extensively with marginalised communities and stigmatised minorities.

He obtained his Masters in Clinical Psychology from the National University of Singapore.

His current clinical and research interests lie in the fields of at-risk youth, trauma, and stigmatised minorities.

His personal views and research are not affiliated to any organisation he is associated with.

1445: Stigma and Discrimination faced by Sex Workers

Ms Caittrin Lee

Volunteer

Project X

Caittrin Lee is a Professional Dominatrix and Kink Educator with over 38k followers internationally. A career path she has chosen since 2017, she specialises in mindful consensual power exchange.

Caittrin spends her free time giving back as a member with Project X, a sex worker rights organisation in Singapore. She is passionate in advocating a safe space for everyone engaged in adult consensual erotic labour, and believes that nobody deserves to be discriminated against.

1500: HIV Sensitivity Training Workshop

Mr P Arun Kumar

Programme Manager

NCID

Arun is currently the programme manager for the Enhanced HIV Programme at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and has previously worked with the National HIV Programme. He is a former nurse with 12 years of experience in HIV and sexual health community engagement and programme management. He has collaborated on theoretically informed and community-engaged HIV social research with culturally and linguistically diverse people living with HIV at the national level.

Mr Seth Tjia

Director

Transbefrienders

Seth is a volunteer at Transbefrienders since 2020. Having a biological science background and years of research experience, he has been providing resources and summaries of trans-related scientific resources for international online groups before joining Transbefrienders, where he hopes to empower transgender youths in Singapore with knowledge and support.

Session 4: Living Well with HIV

Chair: Dr Dariusz Olszyna (NUH)

1545: Keynote 3 - Ageing with HIV

Dr Wong Pui Li

Medical Lecturer

University of Malaya

Dr. Pui Li Wong is an Infectious Disease Clinician and Lecturer at Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her main interests and passion are in implementation research focused on reducing stigma in healthcare settings and improving the care for people living with HIV as they grow older. This also includes a focus on integrating screening for cognition and other mental health conditions into routine clinical care to provide more holistic care for healthcare clients.

1610: The Mental Burden of HIV - New Insights

Dr Chan Lai Gwen

Sr Consultant

TTSH

Dr Chan Lai Gwen is a subspecialist in Neuropsychiatry and received her training in the neuropsychiatry of HIV from the University of Toronto, St Michael’s Hospital. She has been 1 of 2 local HIV Psychiatrists having regular clinic at NCID for the last 12 years. Her expertise is in HIV-related cognitive impairment. Aside from HIV patients, she also sees patients with neurodegenerative disorders, stroke and acquired brain injuries and has a research interest with several publications on these topics.

1625: Care of the Aging Person Living with HIV: Unique Challenges and Solutions

Ms Verena Tan

Sr MSW

NCID

Verena is a senior medical social worker at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. She has a degree in social work from the National University of Singapore and a Specialist Diploma in Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy. She has been working with patients living with HIV and their families for the past 10 years.

Ms Cheng Hong

ANP

NCID

Ms Cheng Hong is an Infectious Disease Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) at the National Centre for Infectious Disease and Tan Tock Seng Hospital. She attained her Mr daniel homaster of Nursing degree from National University of Singapore in 2019. She also worked as an Intensive Care Unit Nurse for 8 years with an Advance Diploma in Critical Care Nursing.

Her clinical interest is in providing holistic aging-related HIV care and managing metabolic syndromes in PLHIV.

1640: The Evolving Role of the Community in Supporting the Aging Population

Dr Wong Pui Li

Medical Lecturer

University of Malaya

Dr Chan Lai Gwen

Sr Consultant

TTSH

Ms Verena Tan

Sr MSW

NCID

Ms Cheng Hong

APN

NCID

Ms Cheng Hong is an Infectious Disease Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) at the National Centre for Infectious Disease and Tan Tock Seng Hospital. She attained her master of Nursing degree from National University of Singapore in 2019. She also worked as an Intensive Care Unit Nurse for 8 years with an Advance Diploma in Critical Care Nursing.

Her clinical interest is in providing holistic aging-related HIV care and managing metabolic syndromes in PLHIV.

Mr Calvin Tan

Executive

Afa

Calvin has been living with HIV since 2016 and uses his lived experience as a young PLHIV to educate the public and advocate for change. He assists in planning HIV/STI prevention and safer sex programmes for the MSM community and provides counselling to newly diagnosed PLHIV and connects with existing ones.

Red Ribbon Awards (RRA)

The Red Ribbon Awards (RRA) are presented to outstanding individuals, groups and organisations that have made significant impact to stop the spread of HIV, improved the lives of Persons Living with HIV infection, fought to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination, and for the equitable treatment of PLHIV, and who have been outstanding in raising funds and awareness to achieve these ends. The RRA has been awarded by AfA since 2012, before that they were known as Appreciation Awards, starting from 2008.

Registration

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