ATHENA at the 6th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis Treatment and Prevention

17-20 July 2011 - Rome, Italy

ATHENA partnered with ICW Global, the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS (GCWA), the Salamander Trust, the Positive Women's Network, WECARe+, and Network Persone Seropositive (NPS) to create the Women's Networking Zone (WNZ) partnership at the past IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention from 17-20 July in Rome. During the conference, the WNZ partnership sponsored a Satellite session, Town Hall meeting, and exhibition booth focusing on gender equity in the HIV response. The Satellite session, "Prevention Technologies: Gender and GIPA. Complement or Collision?" was held on Sunday, 17 July. The session was chaired by Dr. Alice Welbourn of The Salamander Trust, and featured Dr. Quarraisha Abdool Karim (KZN University, South Africa), Ebony Johnson (ATHENA, USA), Steve Letsike (SANAC, South Africa), Emily Bass (AVAC, USA), and MaryLiza Amony (MinIstry of Health, Southern Sudan) in discussion.

See the following links for videos of the Satellite session:

Rome July 2011 Satellite Conference Part 1: Introductions

Rome July 2011 Satellite Conference Part 2: Microbicides and their place in the SRHR agenda

Rome July 2011 Satellite Conference Part 3: Medical Male Circumcision

Rome July 2011 Satellite Conference Part 4: Female Condoms and some questions from the floor

The Town Hall Meeting "Achieveing sexual and reproductive rights for all women and girls through the HIV response" also featured the launch of the joint ATHENA/GCWA report"Community Innovation: Achieving Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for Women and Girls through the HIV Response". The Town Hall and report launch were on Monday, 18 July and were followed by a reception.

Click here to view the report.

The Women's Networking Zone booth was up for the duration of the conference in the exhibition area. The booth featured a number of "critical dialogues" on topics such as the involvement of women in the research agenda and vertical transmission in the context of the sexual and reproductive health rights of women living with HIV. The booth also provided opportunities for informal networking and sharing with others in the field.

See the following links for videos of the critical dialogues:

Booth Session 1 Women's Networking Zone Rome July 2011: Vertical Transmission in the Context of SRHR of Women living with HIV

Booth Session 2 Women's Networking Zone Rome July 2011: Treatment access for all women living with HIV

Booth Session 3 Women's Networking Zone Rome July 2011: Treatment as Prevention

Booth Session 4 Women's Networking Zone Rome July 2011: Involvement of Women in the Research Agenda

Booth Session 5 Women's Networking Zone Rome July 2011: Doctors Dealing with Violence against Women

Booth Session 6 Women's Networking Zone Rome July 2011: First do no harm - doctors and harmful legal practices