The biennial International AIDS Conference—the largest conference on any global health issue in the world—will convene for its 22nd edition (AIDS 2018) July 23-27 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The theme of this year’s conference, “Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges,” will draw attention to the need for rights-based approaches to reach key populations. Bringing together the world’s leading HIV scientists and advocates, as well as people living with HIV, the conference aims to advance HIV knowledge and enhance global scientific and community collaborations.
TREAT Asia, partner investigators, and affiliates will play a prominent role at the conference, leading and presenting at numerous plenaries, symposia, and other sessions. Funders for the studies being presented in Amsterdam include the US NIH and ViiV Healthcare. Highlights include:
Dr. Win Min Han at HIV-NAT, Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre, Bangkok, Thailand. Dr. Han will present his TREAT Asia network study at AIDS 2018 in Amsterdam in July: “Incidence and risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus in HIV-positive adults in TAHOD.”Dr. Annette Sohn, Director of TREAT Asia, will co-chair a symposium titled “Coming of age with HIV: A testimony of our success and a measure of our readiness for the future,” which will highlight emerging issues of aging with HIV and providing uninterrupted and sustainable HIV-specific and integrated care to a growing population of people living with HIV. In this symposium, Dr. Thanyawee Puthanakit, a TREAT Asia network investigator at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, will present on “Chronic diseases in children and adolescents on antiretroviral therapy: preparing for what is to come.”- A poster on the “Incidence and risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus in HIV-positive adults in TAHOD” will be presented on behalf of the TAHOD Steering Committee by lead author Dr. Win Min Han of HIV-NAT, Bangkok, Thailand.
- Dr. Ivan Marbaniang of BJ Government Medical College and Johns Hopkins University collaboration in Pune, India, will present two posters: one on “Opportunities, Challenges and Implications of m-Health Oral Cancer screening for HIV-positive individuals in India,” and one titled “Frailty is Associated with HIV and Female Gender in Asians over 50.”
- During a poster session titled “From online to IRL: Social media, sex apps and surfing to enhance cascades,” Tarandeep Anand of Adam's Love, Thailand, will present “Implementation and impact of a technology-based HIV risk-reduction intervention among Thai men who have sex with men using 'Vialogues': A randomized controlled trial.” This study describes data from analyses of “online to offline” interventions aimed at increasing HIV services uptake by key populations in Thailand.
Additional research presentations will be made at the 10th International Workshop on HIV Pediatrics taking place immediately before AIDS 2018:
Dr. Tavitiya Sudjaritruk of Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand, with a patient. Dr. Sudjaritruk will present at the 10th International Workshop on HIV Pediatrics: “Prevalence of depressive symptoms among Thai adolescents living with HIV using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) screening tool.”Dr. Tavitiya Sudjaritruk of Chiang Mai University in Chiang Mai, Thailand, will present on “Prevalence of depressive symptoms among Thai adolescents living with HIV using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) screening tool.” This analysis comes from a study evaluating depression and anxiety in Thai adolescents with HIV that Dr. Sudjaritruk is leading. - Dr. Thida Singtoroj, TREAT Asia Project Manager of Pediatric and Adolescent Research, will present a poster titled “Post-transition outcomes of adolescents and young adults in Asia highlight need to address chronic viremia and diversify adherence support.” The poster describes research conducted under the Study of Transitioning in Asian Youth (STAY).
- Dr. Supattra Rungmaitree of Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand, will present a poster titled “Characteristics of and risk factors associated with violence reported by Asian youth living with and without HIV through audio computer-assisted self-interview.” This report is part of TREAT Asia’s HPV in Adolescents Study.
amfAR’s Public Policy Office will also have a strong presence at AIDS 2018. Greg Millett, Director of Public Policy, will co-moderate a Facebook Live session on HIV funding (July 24th at 10:30 AM EST.), and will co-lead a session titled “The diseases and conditions that intersect with HIV” as part of an IAS/AVAC Journalist Fellows initiative. He will also co-sponsor a session on optimizing the impact of key population programming across the HIV cascade.
Public Policy staff will present on issues associated with the reinstated and expanded Mexico City Policy signed by President Trump in 2017. Brian Honermann, Deputy Director, will present an oral abstract titled “Caught by ideology: HIV providers in the era of the protecting life in global health assistance policy (AKA Mexico City Policy),” and Jennifer Sherwood, Policy Associate, will present a poster titled “Mapping the Impact of the Expanded Mexico City Policy for HIV/ Family Planning Service Integration in PEPFAR-supported Countries: A Risk Index.”
Mr. Honermann will also lead a workshop titled “Understanding the Global Gag Rule: A Practical Workshop for How to Sustain Global Health Progress Amidst the New U.S. Policy Environment.” Alana Sharp, Policy Associate, will present a poster titled “Applying the Global fund allocation formula—are the data driving allocations?” And the amfAR Policy team will be working at the amfAR-cosponsored Global Gag Rule booth, disseminating information and documenting the impact of the policy on HIV programming, and Mr. Honermann will take part in a press conference on the topic.
Many amfAR-supported scientists will be featured at the conference, including Dr. Brad Jones, who will lead a plenary session on the newest science in the search for a cure and vaccine. He, along with Drs. Amy Chung, Priscilla Hsue, Sharon Lewin, and Timothy Henrich will co-chair sessions, and numerous other grantees will give oral presentations and present or co-author posters.