Universal access: delivering on the promise for key populations
29 September 2006
The Alliance and its partners are hosting a one day conference, Universal access: delivering the promise for key populations, in London on Friday 17 November, to share experiences of developing and delivering HIV prevention services in association with sex workers, men who have sex with men, and people living with HIV in India, Ecuador, Cambodia, Morocco and Madagascar. The conference marks the fifth year of implementation of the Alliance's Frontiers Prevention Project.
The event will draw on the Alliance's experience of the Frontiers Prevention Project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and try to identify the successes and challenges in scaling up HIV service provision. The project ends in 2007.
Speakers will include leading figures from key populations responding to HIV, together with local project implementers from community organisations of men who have sex with men, sex workers and people living with HIV. A range of donors have been invited to reflect on the implications of these groups' experiences, for donor policy and programming.
"There is little hope of delivering on the promise of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care without a concerted effort to ensure that services are developed and delivered in association with highly marginalised groups," said Alvaro Bermejo the executive director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.
"Individuals from these communities are rarely represented at policy-making fora or when decisions are being made about the shape and nature of services.
"That is why it is so critical that we share our experiences of working with key populations and grow our understanding of what works and what doesn't, and ensure that we act on it."
Universal access: delivering on the promise for key populations will be held at the Commonwealth Club, just off London's Trafalgar Square, on Friday November 17. The event is free and open to the public, however numbers are restricted. To register, please email your name and any organisational affiliation to Karine Gattelier.The event will also include the London opening of the Alliance's Unheard Voices – Hidden Lives exhibition and book. Unheard Voices – Hidden Lives is a collection of personal photos and stories by beneficiaries of the Frontiers Prevention Project in India, Ecuador and Cambodia.
For more information about the event, contact Joseph O'Reilly.
