June 21, 2017
Written by Hunter Isgrig, Digital Campaign Producer, Crowd 360
Nearly one in five people with HIV live in South Africa. The country has one of the highest rates of new HIV infections in the world which requires a complex approach to best treat those living with HIV as well as prevent further infections. This month, the 8th Southern Africa AIDS Conference (SA AIDS 2017) brought together world-class researchers, advocates, health workers, and program leaders to discuss this complexity in detail and showcase the latest innovations and lessons learned from their respective fields. Common themes identified throughout the event included the impact of HIV on women and girls, elevating the need for focus on youth and key populations, and minimizing the public health impact of HIV and TB-coinfection.
To expand more on the theme of this year’s conference, as well as discuss the key messages coming out of the presentations and plenaries, Crowd 360 sat down with this year’s SA AIDS 2017 Conference Chairperson, Dr. Sue Goldstein to get her perspective:
In South Africa, it is estimated that approximately 200 young women, aged 15 to 24, are newly infected with HIV each day. As Dr. Goldstein mentioned in her interview, youth voices were heavily integrated into to the sessions and plenaries of this year’s conference, advocating for further inclusion in policymaking so that their livelihoods and issues are incorporated in the decisions made about future programs and policies.
As much as youth were elevated in the conversations at the conference, so were barriers incurred by members of the LGBTQIA+ and sex worker community. The issue of stigma, particularly amongst health care providers, and solutions to provide better services to these key populations were commonly heard throughout presentations and plenaries. In response to the growing demand for inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community in national plans to address HIV, the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) launched a new strategy to incorporate this key population in the country’s efforts against HIV (will post once available online). Additionally, discussions of PrEP and its influence across populations were largely discussed as key areas of focus for large-scale HIV prevention needed across the region.
South Africa also has the sixth highest tuberculosis incidence in the world, with more than 450,000 new cases diagnosed in 2015, 63% of which occur in people living with HIV. To address this, SANAC launched the National Strategic Plan for HIV, STIs and Tuberculosis for all of South Africa ahead of the conference. The report serves as a roadmap for the next five years dictating objectives and interventions to achieve so that these three diseases are no longer public health issues.
The 8th Southern Africa AIDS Conference brought together voices, science and strategy to continue the conversation around the HIV epidemic. The key message of the conference was that by incorporating voices of those most vulnerable, better prevention can occur and more lives can be saved.
“HIV Prevention the most critical pillar of all endeavors we could take on “- Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa @DPRamaphosa #SAAIDS2017 pic.twitter.com/QGKcdqSodh
— HumanaPeopletoPeople (@HumanaHPP) June 15, 2017
Did you follow Crowd 360’s coverage of SA AIDS 2017? If not, check out the #SAAIDS2017 Hub to see the latest blogs, research and news launched around the event!
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