This article originally appeared on The Body.

The 21st United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) is taking place in Washington, D.C., from Sept. 7 through Sept. 10. The conference, sponsored by the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC), brings together community leaders and HIV advocates to learn the latest information and to build skills for providing effective HIV prevention and treatment services. I’m part of a team of amazing writers and creators who are here covering USCA for TheBodyPRO.com and will bring you highlights of the important events, people and knowledge shared at the conference.

As a pre-cursor to USCA, NMAC also put together an Action Day on Wednesday, Sept. 6, giving HIV advocates and community stakeholders the opportunity to meet with representatives on Capitol Hill. The event was sort of a mini-AIDSWatch, and people from all over the country were engaged. Meetings took place throughout the day. Members of the Senate and Congress were asked to restore funding for the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative, to lift budget caps, to maintain funding of the portfolios for domestic HIV (i.e., the Ryan White Program) and the prevention of HIV and sexually transmitted infections, and to increase funding for housing (i.e., the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS Program, or HOPWA).

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