APIN Delegates Shine at International AIDS Conference

July 2004 - Over 17,000 delegates descended upon Bangkok, Thailand, in July for the XV International AIDS Conference, one of the largest AIDS forums ever held. Each year, the conference aims to link community and science in order to galvanize the world's response to HIV/AIDS through increased commitment, leadership, and accountability.

APIN was represented at the conference by 20 delegates from Nigeria and the United States. "It's important for people from all around the world to share notes," says Seyed Jalal Hosseini, associate director of educational programs for APIN. "At the conference, we were able to tell the world what APIN has been doing for Africa, and how we've alleviated some of the pain and suffering."

"The conference was the first of its kind to be held in Asia, where one of every four new HIV infections occurs. The conference was extremely helpful in terms of showcasing our activities and acquiring resources relevant to our work," says Irene Ogbogu, executive director of Women's Health, Education and Development (WHED), who presented two posters at the conference. "I gained new knowledge on the factors that increase vulnerability of sex workers to HIV and ways of addressing these vulnerabilities."

Viola Onwuliri, principle investigator of the Sex Workers Education Program, presented an evaluation of the progress of her two-year AIDS education program for sex workers in Plateau State. "I wanted to call attention to the importance of comprehensive AIDS education for sex workers, to feel the pulse of the international community about my project and learn new lessons. I achieved all of this and more. Many people wanted to exchange addresses after the presentation, and I held important discussions with participants, especially some of those from East Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and Australia."

Dr. Jon Idoko, head of Infectious Disease at Jos University Teaching Hospital, produced two presentations at the conference, the first on adherence and antiretroviral therapy in Nigeria, and the second on sustainable access to ARV treatment and the role of health systems in reaching the poor. "How does one ensure that the drugs get to the poor and how do we ensure that there is accountability between policymakers, health providers and beneficiaries?" is the question Dr. Idoko posed to conference attendees.

The conference was very helpful to me and my work. I had wonderful opportunities to learn from new research reports in the area of antiretroviral therapy and vaccines," says Dr. Idoko. "It also afforded great opportunities for sharing of experiences and networking and there were a lot of educational materials, which will prove very helpful in our current and future work. In Jos, we have large antiretroviral programs and I concentrated on a number of sessions in Bangkok focusing on issues of access to ART, adherence, resistance and new drugs in development."

Not only did APIN's delegates enhance their knowledge and skills while in Bangkok, but their posters and presentations impacted their colleagues from around the world. APIN's successes can help others see how a countrywide prevention and treatment program can effectively function in a large and populous African country like Nigeria," says Dr. Robert Murphy, principle investigator of the Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group at Northwestern University. "And the APIN team learned from other successful models being utilized in other African countries."