Science and communities in the HIV response in Southeast Asia - Session 2

Nittaya Phanuphak finished her medical degree from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok in 1996 and received her PhD in medicine from the University of Amsterdam in 2013. She is the Executive Director of the Institute of HIV Research and Innovation in Bangkok, Thailand, founded in 2020. She joined the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre (TRCARC) in 2002 to lead a countrywide prevention of vertical transmission operational study of almost 8,000 pregnant women living with HIV. Data generated were used to change Thailand’s guidelines to recommend three-drug regimens to prevent vertical transmission in 2010.

Nittaya has developed a deep interest in the use of key population-centred approaches to enhance access to HIV testing, prevention and treatment. In 2008, she established an anal neoplasia screening service to bring men who have sex with men into HIV services at TRCARC; the model was then replicated in Bali, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur to form the IeDEA-funded Anal Neoplasia Study in Asia and the Pacific (ANSAP). In 2015, she supported the establishment of the Tangerine Community Health Center at TRCARC using an integrated hormone therapy and sexual health service approach to effectively bring almost 4,000 trans women and trans men into services over five years. The model is currently being expanded to community-based organizations (CBOs), as well as public and private clinics, working with trans people in the region.

The high uptake of immediate antiretroviral therapy (ART) among Thai men who have sex with men and trans women, together with high HIV prevalence and incidence (demonstrated in Thailand’s first test-and-treat study led by her team in 2012), pushed national HIV guidelines to recommend ART regardless of CD4 count and PrEP for people vulnerable to HIV since 2014. In 2015, she started exploring the use of the Key Population-Led Health Services (KPLHS) approach to enhance HIV cascades, with PEPFAR and USAID support. In the KPLHS model, partnerships between CBOs and government/public health facilities allow capacity building for lay providers, who are members of key populations, to perform HIV testing, link clients living with HIV to ART, dispense PrEP and PEP, and retain both HIV-positive and HIV-negative clients in the programmes. She is working intensively with community and government partners to establish a national technical assistance platform to support KPLHS certification and legalization to ensure its sustainability through domestic financing mechanisms.

Through KPLHS, key population lay providers in Thailand have successfully dispensed PrEP to more than half of the PrEP users in the country. Nittaya strongly believes that PrEP must be demedicalized and requires differentiated service delivery models to rapidly reach high coverage and see its impact on the reduction of new HIV acquisitions.

Dr. Akarin Hiransuthikul is an assistant professor of community medicine at the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, and a consultant at the Institute of HIV Research and Innovation (IHRI), both in Bangkok, Thailand. A neurologist and epidemiologist, he leads research on non-communicable diseases, cognitive impairment, and implementation science among people living with HIV, with a particular focus on translating advances in cognitive health into HIV care. His work also addresses the health needs of gender minorities and the implementation of harm reduction services for people who engage in substance use.

With a master’s degree in psychology, Purvi has over 19 years of experience in providing leadership to program planning, development, implementation and management of HIV programs globally. Having worked extensively in implementing CBOs, International NGOs to NGOs providing technical support to government agencies, and UN agencies, Purvi has had the opportunity to work with all key population groups, children and adolescents. She is currently working with WHO, HIV, Hepatitis and STI program team in SEARO. Her major focus is to support countries in Asia Pacific on Innovative testing, Virtual Interventions and Artificial Intelligence.

Lord-Art Lomarda is a Program Manager at LoveYourself, Inc., a nonprofit organization in the Philippines offering free HIV testing, treatment, transgender, and mental health services. A registered nurse and former LoveYourself volunteer counselor, he now leads the EMBRACE Virtual Hub, the first holistic digital platform for HIV and sexual health care. Lord-Art is also an alumnus of the U.S. State Department’s Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) program, advocating for inclusive, person-centered HIV and sexual health services through innovative virtual solutions.

Krittaporn (Kung) Termvanich is Communications & Marketing Manager at the Institute of HIV Research and Innovation (IHRI) in Bangkok, where she also manages the Pribta Tangerine Clinic. She leads a creative team in transforming research and data into clear, engaging, and accessible messages, while also playing a key role in expanding HIV self-testing and linking clients to appropriate sexual-health services through innovative telehealth models

Naomi Fontanos graduated from the University of the Philippines Diliman. She is a long-time advocate of the Filipino transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, and queer (TLGBIQ) community and an advocate of feminism. She is currently APCOM's Gender Equality and Sustainability Development Officer.

Hue Anh Dinh is a Program Officer at Lighthouse Social Enterprise, specializing in mental health and harm reduction within LGBTIQ+ and chemsex communities in Vietnam. She has led peer-driven and psychosocial interventions addressing the intersections of substance use, sexuality, and mental health, with a focus on reducing stigma and expanding community-based support. Her work integrates mental health into broader health services while leveraging digital tools and peer networks to improve access to care. Committed to participatory and evidence-informed approaches, she emphasizes amplifying community voices and developing sustainable models tailored to local needs.

Jakkrapatara Boonruang is a research physician affiliated with the Institute of HIV Research and Innovation and a recipient of the Mark Wainberg Fellowship from the International AIDS Society, whose fields of practice include HIV and STI screening, prevention, and treatment, gender-affirming care for trans and gender-diverse individuals, harm reduction, and sexual and reproductive health. He has been actively involved in clinical trials such as HPTN083 and PURPOSE-2 as a sub-investigator, as well as implementation research projects. He also provides sexual health-related services at Pribta-Tangerine Clinic in Bangkok, Thailand.

Dr Rayner Kay Jin TAN is Assistant Professor and leads The Courage Lab at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System. He is an implementation and socio-behavioural scientist whose work spans areas of stigma and health, community engagement, and health equity. He is also Head of Research at The Greenhouse Community Services Limited, a charity offering substance use recovery services, and a board member of Project X Society serving the needs of sex workers. He is also a co-lead at SG Mental Health Matters to spur public engagement in mental health policymaking.