Rural Africa: Still forgotten?

I came to the 2006 International AIDS Conference wearing many hats. In addition to writing for three online publications (this one, Time To Deliver, and AIDS Combat Zone) I'm also a CHAMP activist, an SGAC member, a USF Global Health student, a Peace Corps nominee, and a concerned global citizen. The driving force behind my participation in these causes has long been my concern over the impact of HIV in the developing world, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. That being the case, I came to the 2006 IAC with the hope of attending sessions that would better prepare me for my upcoming Peace Corps placement and subsequent career in global health, and also allow me to better communicate African issues to my blog audiences.

Even with the tremendous size of the conference, only a handful of sessions and workshops are dedicated to topics that can be applied to rural Africa. I've only been able to attend one so far, a very interesting workshop and discussion on incorporating traditional medicine into an HIV program. I hope to be able to attend several more like it before the conference is over, but I don't have nearly as many options as I had originally hoped.

The implied message is that Africa, despite being home to more than half of the world's people with HIV and AIDS, still isn't an important part of the global response to HIV. If the leaders of AIDS movements around the world are serious about reversing the spread of HIV in Africa, we are going to need to see more direct attention paid to the situation in Africa at global meetings such as this one. By bringing Africa out of the shadows of discussions about HIV, we can finally begin to reverse the African AIDS epidemic.

Brad's Prologue

I wish I could report that all has gone smoothly in preparation for the IAC, but I can not. Several of my friends and I were among the press delegates who were stuck in line for upwards of 4 hours while trying to register. Fortunately that ordeal ended and we managed to obtain our press passes and conference materials. Despite the initial roadbumps, my praise goes out to the International AIDS Conference for their decision to grant press access to members of the new media such as myself.

Traveling also had its difficulties. My flight out of Tampa International Airport was scheduled to depart at 6:30 AM and so I heeded the (link) suggested guidelines of allowing an extra hour for added security measures. But when I arrived at the airport at 3:15 AM - having not slept at all the night before - I found that the airline counters didn't open until 4:00. Things were made worse when one of our delegates was denied entrance to the airport for not having a passport or birth certificate, when she had been told previously that all she would need was a driver's license. Fortunately she will be able to arrive tomorrow morning, without having missed much.

Yesterday was spent training youth activists from TimeToDeliver.org on how to be effective bloggers. I also attended be attending the star-studded opening ceremonies, and my post on that event can be seen at TimeToDeliver.org. I've talked with people from organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and the Ghanan Ministry of Health. I've come to appreciate the Canadian people, who are, generally speaking, just as friendly as their reputation suggests. Finally, I've been pleasantly surprised that some people here have visited my primary blogging site, AIDS Combat Zone. Overall this stands to be an affirming experience on many levels, even if the first few days have had their rough spots.

More to come.

Graying of AIDS" Photo-essay

According to Time magazine "More Americans are living with HIV into middle age and beyond, but they are often ignored by doctors and society. Six people share their stories about surviving with HIV". They have put together very interesting photoessay titled as The Graying of AIDS .

Caucus for Evidence-Based Prevention

At the Toronto conference, the Caucus for Evidence-Based Prevention will promote HIV prevention efforts supported by sound science, report on HIV prevention-related proceedings to a wide audience, and alert the community when ideology, prejudice, or opinion interfere with evidenced-based approaches to reducing the further spread of HIV/AIDS.

Advocates.com also posted information describing plans by abstinence-only opponents during this conference.



Tags: AIDS 2006 Toronto HIV+Prevention

International AIDS conference: International Collaborative Blog

XVI International AIDS Conference to be held in Toronto during August 13-18, 2006 will afford the world’s leaders in the fight against the scourge of HIV/AIDS a landmark opportunity to infuse new energy and ideas into global solutions for a global problem. In addition to the extensive coverage of the conference by mainstream media, we think it is important that the perspective of bloggers be heard, and the voice of civil society from around the world – both those who are participating at the conference, and those who are not in Toronto, emerge. Bloggers have the ability to shape such coverage and we believe your perspective on these issues deserves to be heard.

Our goal is to share different perspectives on this subject and to give voice to an international audience; becoming a vehicle for those who are unable to participate in this conference to express their opinions and experiences.