27 March 2019
Dear APCASO Friends, Supporters, and Colleagues
Announcement: APCASO COMPLETES FULL TRANSITION TO BANGKOK
We are writing to you all to mark the completion of APCASO’s relocation to Thailand (from Malaysia). This includes all of our programmes, operations, staff, partnerships base, and governance structures – all operating under the auspices of the APCASO Thai Foundation, registered under Thai law.
As some of you may recall, in mid-2014 APCASO faced a dire financial future and series of questions about our relevance. The APCASO Board of Trustees and Council of Representatives held a series of crisis meetings and conference calls over the latter half of 2014 – and decided to initiate a complete ‘re-birth’ of APCASO, aiming to move it to more directly relevant objectives and programmes in the changing environment and global strategic directions – and to work with a wider range of communities and stakeholders.
Within 12 months we immediately appointed our new Executive Director, RD Marte, and with the new ED, we:
- Decided to relocate our operations to Bangkok;
- Developed an ambitious 5-year Strategic Plan which dramatically expanded APCASO’s mandate and directions;
- Created a new Vision and Mission for the agency – better aligned with the global strategic directions then becoming clearer;
- Set about establishing a Thai legal entity to facilitate and enable our corporate operations from Thailand;
- Shortened our name to simply ‘APCASO’ – as we were now dealing with more than just AIDS;
- Fostered development of nascent communities of people with TB and communities affected by Malaria in the Asia Pacific region and globally; and
- Engaged in critical high-level global strategies from the ground-up: the SDGs, UHC, GFATM, Financing for Sustainable HIV, TB and Malaria responses.
So, from merely surviving in late 2014 with one staff member and very limited funding, our dynamic Executive Director now leads a highly nimble and skilled Secretariat and has rapidly built APCASO into the credible, influential, go-to agency for stakeholders as it operates effectively from the local community level right up to the global decision-making fora.
In March 2017 the APCASO Thai Foundation received formal registration under Thai law.
Four years into the transition we have finally concluded the move of all our financial management and operations from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok in early January 2019. At that stage I formally resigned from my position as the Chair, Board of Trustees of APCASO (Malaysian entity). RD also formally resigned from her executive leadership roles and relinquished all responsibilities in relation to Malaysia to fully and solely dedicate her time and energy to APCASO’s operations from the Thailand-registered entity.
With this Announcement we also wish to inform you that myself, RD Marte, and the Chair and members of the Council of Representatives of APCASO no longer have any formal connections with the on-going entity in Malaysia.
For all future communications with APCASO, please contact:
Rodelyn (RD) Melad Marte, Executive Director
66/5, 33 Tower, Sukhumvit 33 Road, Klongton Nuea,
Wattana, Bangkok 10110, THAILAND
We look forward to your continuing support and advice through the many years to come of APCASO’s dynamic and influential role and programmes, operating under the APCASO Thai Foundation.
Very best wishes to all
(signed)
Don Baxter
Former Chair, Board of Trustees, Asian Pacific Council of AIDS Service Organisations (2012-
January 2019); Former Member, APCASO Council of Representatives (2002-2012)
(signed)
Khuat Thi Hai Oanh
Chair, APCASO Council of Representatives (2012 to date)
(signed)
With RD Marte
Executive Director