Toronto hosts HIV/AIDs conference November 19-20
TORONTO, Nov. 15 - The 9th annual research conference of the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN) will examine why individuals and communities continue to be vulnerable to HIV/AIDS more than 25 years after the
disease first appeared.
Research scientists, decision makers, service providers and people living with HIV will gather in Toronto to explore a wide range of complex and sometimes contentious concerns, including:
- social vulnerability and the mobilization of Aboriginal, Black and other communities to confront the HIV/AIDS epidemic
- the impact of the political "war on drugs" on HIV prevention
- women and HIV
- criminalization and HIV/AIDS disclosure.
Where:
Hilton Toronto
145 Richmond Street West, Toronto
When:
Monday, November 19
8:30 am to 8:00 pm
Tuesday, November 20
8:30 am to 5:00 pm
Contact: Jessica Harris
Phone: 416-409-8841
416-642-6486 x 302
e-mail: jharris@ohtn.on.ca
Here are some highlights of the two-day conference, titled Addressing
Vulnerability: From Biology to Policy:
- six keynote presentations from internationally renowned experts.
Highlights include:
- Phill Wilson, the dynamic activist and Executive Director of the US-based Black AIDS Institute, the United States' first black HIV/AIDS policy center dedicated to mobilizing black institutions and individuals in efforts to confront the epidemic in their communities
- Seodi White, an African feminist and social development lawyer who has championed ground-breaking law reform to protect women's human rights in Southern Africa
- various Ontario HIV experts addressing issues such as HIV in Aboriginal communities, pregnancy planning for HIV positive women HIV and injection drug use, and the challenges when HIV interacts with other kinds of infections
- opening statement from George Smitherman, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care for Ontario
- an art exhibition presenting Body Maps - large multimedia self-portraits - created by people living with HIV/AIDS, illustrating the impact of HIV on the body.
The entire conference is free to members of the HIV community.
About the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN)BACKGROUND
- a non-profit organization, founded in 1998
- provides annual funding of more than $3.5 million in HIV/AIDS research in treatment side-effects, vaccine and treatment development, discrimination, mental health, and more
- committed to improving the quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS and communities at risk in Ontario by:
- funding high-quality research in HIV treatment, support, education and prevention
- working with decision-makers to improve the quality of Ontario's HIV programs and services by using research to shape policy and practice
- creating opportunities for healthcare providers and communities affected by HIV to build knowledge and skills to enhance their response to HIV
- special emphasis on community-based research and research relating to the social determinants of health
- significant accomplishments include:
- funding of more than 350 research studies
- involvement of people living with HIV in all programs
- co-funding of the first ever Research Chair dedicated to HIV
research in Canada, at the University of Toronto
- establishing a multi-disciplinary housing and health research
project, the first of its kind in Canada to look at how housing
issues affect the health of people with HIV
- hosting Ontario's largest HIV cohort study
- providing an extra year of training in HIV care for 10 physicians
- funding programs:
- Various programs provide support for:
- project funding, equipment, and career support for researchers
- community-based research and partnerships between communities and researchers
- responses to urgent or emerging HIV-related issues in Ontario
- funded through the AIDS Bureau of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
- governed by a Board of Directors including people living with HIV, researchers, health care providers and policy makers.
END
For further information: Jessica Harris, Manager, Knowledge Transfer and
Exchange, at (416) 642-6486 ex. 302, Jharris@ohtn.on.ca, www.ohtn.on.ca
"Reproduced with permission - Ontario HIV Treatment Network"
Ontario HIV Treatment Network
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