In July 2014, Melbourne will play host to more than 14,000
researchers, medical experts, advocates and representatives of people living
with HIV / AIDS at the AIDS 2014 Conference. The theme for AIDS 2014
is “Stepping up the Pace” (of action to reduce infections and deaths).
With AIDS 2014 having such a large expected turnout, and a
theme which indicates commitment to working towards eliminating HIV / AIDS,
does RESULTS have scope during preparations for AIDS 2014 to play its customary
role of focussing on issues which receive little attention or strong advocacy
from other people?
The answer is a very clear “yes,” for two reasons which the regional AIDS conference, the
International Congress on AIDS in the Asia-Pacific (ICAAP) held in Bangkok in
November, highlighted.
·
The proposals by international working groups
for post 2015 development goals (tentatively, the Sustainable Development
Goals) place less emphasis on health goals than the Millennium Development
Goals, and say very little about specific diseases such as AIDS and TB. One of the panel sessions at ICAAP had the
title “Disappearing Act? AIDS and
Development in the Post 2015 agenda.”
·
The deadly combination of TB and HIV still
receives little recognition, even among people with a strong HIV focus. The daily newsletter at ICAAP on 21 November
contained an article “TB / HIV: Why is
ICAAP silent?” See: http://icaap11.org/index.php/media/newsletters. This article noted that at least 170,000
people are co-infected with HIV and TB in South-East Asia and at least 50,000
people with HIV die from TB in South-East Asia each year. However, few sessions at ICAAP and few of the
activists and advocates in the region have made the TB and HIV combination a
priority.
In our preparations for AIDS 2014 in Melbourne, RESULTS is aiming
to break the silence on HIV and TB. At
ICAAP, Sarah Kirk (RESULTS Australia’s Global Health Consultant) and I promoted
with potential partner organisations a TB/HIV Networking Zone at AIDS 2014,
where the various people interested in both diseases (including researchers,
activists and community representatives) can share information and ideas for
action.
In addition, with our international partners in ACTION, we
are developing proposals for several papers and workshop topics for AIDS 2014 which
will address issues such as:
·
Obtaining additional resources for combating TB
and HIV;
·
How to reach the 3 million people who are not
diagnosed or treated for TB;
·
Reaching the most vulnerable populations for
AIDS and TB.
AIDS 2014 will provide a number of opportunities for RESULTS
volunteers to raise the profile both of RESULTS and of our work on HIV and
TB:
·
The RESULTS Australia National Conference is
taking place on the weekend preceding AIDS 2014 (19 and 20 July 2014).
·
The ACTION partnership is planning to have a
booth at the Conference, at which we will be able to engage with Conference
participants on HIV-related issues and also about RESULTS Australia’s work and
role.
The AIDS 2014 Conference runs from 20 to 25 July 2014, and
if you can spend some extra time in Melbourne following the RESULTS National
Conference, you would definitely be welcome to be one of the volunteers helping
to break the silence on TB and HIV and promoting RESULTS at the same time.
As a preview of the type of activity we can undertake, a
short video of RESULTS’ CEO Maree Nutt, speaking at the AIDS 2012 Conference in
Washington DC is also available on our web site: http://www.results.org.au/our-actions/other-events/aids-2014/.
Mark Rice
Global Health Advocacy Manager
