By Gloriose Ntirenganya

The 25th International AIDS Conference, AIDS 2024, will take place in Munich, Germany, and virtually from July 22 to 26, 2024, with pre-conference meetings on July 20 and 21. It is the world's largest conference on AIDS, expected to attract 15,000 participants from around the world, most of whom will attend in person. The organizing committee, along with its members, will provide overall planning and guidance for the scientific development of AIDS 2024.

The goal of the International AIDS Society is to educate and advocate for a world in which HIV no longer threatens public health and individual well-being.

AIDS 2024 will gather thousands of people living with, affected by, and working on HIV to share knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned from the HIV response over the past 40 years and other public health threats.

This conference will provide a powerful platform to align strategically and educate change-makers to ensure a global HIV response based on the theme "Put People First." This means thinking of solutions from the perspective of those most affected, putting the person before their condition.

Key Values of "Put People First":

• We are independent and accountable to people living with and affected by HIV.
• We measure our actions by their impact on people's lives.
• We champion an environment that empowers everyone to be part of the conversation. - We respect the lived experiences of all and foster a diversity of perspectives.

In a world plagued by inequality, putting people first across all aspects of the HIV response is a moral imperative. In the design of clinical trials, the formulation of policies, or any other effort, people living with and affected by HIV must not merely be beneficiaries.

Objectives of the Conference:

• Present and critically discuss innovations through scientific discovery and evidence-based approaches to preventing and treating HIV and related co-infections and co-morbidities, including Tuberculosis (TB), from basic science to clinical research, epidemiology, and social science.
• Advance research addressing the challenges and opportunities of implementing new prevention and treatment modalities, including long-acting technologies, in different populations and contexts.
• Address enduring gaps in the HIV response for key and vulnerable populations, including areas needing greater investment in research and person-centered service delivery, as well as gender, ethnic, and racial disparities.
• Explore the complex dynamics of the rapidly growing HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, focusing on structural barriers like criminalization and human rights infringements that prevent service uptake by people living with and affected by HIV, and the impact of the war in Ukraine.

Ending the HIV pandemic as a threat to public health and individual well-being requires the combined efforts of research, healthcare activism, and policy. The AIDS 2024 conference in Munich will be a gathering place for communities worldwide to share experiences and learn about HIV, translating science into community action to address enduring gaps and challenges in the HIV response.

Sources: www.iasociety.org

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14th International Workshop on HIV & Women (April 12-13, 2024)

By Gloriose Ntirenganya

The 14th International Workshop on HIV & Women will be held in a hybrid format in Washington, DC, United States, from April 12 to 13, 2024. This workshop offers a valuable platform for healthcare providers, researchers, government officials, industry professionals, and community representatives to discuss and expand their knowledge on HIV-related issues affecting women.

The theme of the conference is "Putting People First," which means thinking of solutions from the perspective of those most affected.

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from world-leading HIV experts, discuss issues, gaps, and opportunities for further learning and research, and benefit from high-quality abstract submissions. Additionally, the workshop serves as a platform for early-career investigators to showcase their work and connect with mentors who inspire their research.

Many attendees continue to participate each year, leading to collaborative projects and valuable relationships. The workshop provides a forum for early-career investigators to present their work and meet with experts they view as mentors and inspirations.

Objectives of the Workshop:

• Facilitate unbiased and scientific knowledge exchange regarding HIV and women, encouraging early-career investigators to actively participate.
• Summarize and promote the current state of science regarding HIV and women, and successfully translate and disseminate this knowledge.
• Foster collaboration between researchers and women to improve knowledge sharing, with the goal of improving the quality of life for women living with HIV.

Women living with HIV often experience low social support, poor physical health, and a poorer quality of life. They may delay seeking help and treatment for mental health issues. Women living with HIV experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress symptoms compared to their male counterparts and HIV-unaffected women.

The importance of this workshop is to learn from leading HIV experts, discuss issues and gaps, and explore opportunities for further research. Many participants have formed collaborative projects and raised awareness about HIV, diagnosing people living with HIV, and providing them with treatment to reduce the risk of transmission.

Strategies for Increasing HIV Awareness:

• Focus efforts on understanding emerging issues in HIV prevention.
• Promote actionable behaviors to increase HIV awareness and prevention in communities.

Globally, approximately 39 million people live with HIV, according to the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 2023 statistics. Of these, 31.5 million are adults, 1.5 million are children, and 53% are women and girls.

The United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease. Launched in 2003, PEPFAR has supported a world more secure from HIV infection through transparent American foreign assistance.

Sources: www.academicmedicaleducation.com

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United Nations Women Conference: Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) - 2024

By Gloriose Ntirenganya

From March 11 to 22, 2024, the 68th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) will take place in person in the General Assembly Hall at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945, with the purposes of maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, achieving international cooperation, and serving as a center for harmonizing the actions of nations.

The UN Women Executive Board consists of representatives from 45 member states elected by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) based on equitable geographical distribution: four from Eastern Europe, eight from Western Europe, nine from Latin America, eleven from Asia, and thirteen from Africa.

Priority Theme:

Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening financing with a gender perspective. This includes social protection systems, access to public services, and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and empowerment.

Scope of UN Women:

• Supports UN member states in setting global standards for achieving gender equality. - Works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programs, and services needed to assure these standards benefit women and girls worldwide.
• Works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls.
• Stands behind women's equal participation in all aspects of life, including governance, economic empowerment, ending violence against women and girls, peace and security, humanitarian action, and disaster risk reduction.

Representatives of member states, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world are invited to contribute to the session.

Sources: unwomen.org/en/csw/NGO-participation