Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report Summarizes Reports, Initiatives From International AIDS Conference — Aug. 11

As part of its expanded coverage of the XVII International AIDS Conference, which was held Aug. 3 through Aug. 8 in Mexico City, the Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report featured studies and initiatives released during the conference. Summaries of select publications and initiatives appear below.

• "Global Alliance for HIV," International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies: IFRC launched the alliance for the Americas ahead of the conference, and it aims to raise more than $21.4 million to bolster HIV/AIDS programs in the region. The initiative will start with 10 countries: Argentina, Belize, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras and Jamaica. It is expected that more countries will join the initiative in the coming years and that more than seven million people will benefit from the partnership (IFRC release, 8/3).
  
  
• "Mexico City AIDS 2008: Luminaries Call for Ending AIDS Through a Vaccine at Global Conference," International AIDS Vaccine Initiative: Discussions about how to fight HIV/AIDS in the long term and how to improve prevention efforts worldwide "took center stage" at the conference, according to IAVI. Although this year's conference did not have a plenary session focused on vaccines, several advocates, researchers and leaders called for continued support for HIV/AIDS vaccine efforts. IAVI at the conference released a vaccine blueprint that lays out the organization's recommendations for the future of AIDS vaccine research and development. Vaccine researchers also highlighted developments in recent years, and the Spanish government announced that it will allocate three million euros, or about $4.5 million, to IAVI (IAVI release, 8/7).
  
  
• "Nothing About Us Without Us: A Report From the HIV-Positive Women's Forum," World YWCA: The report examines the HIV-Positive Women's Forum, which was held in July 2007 in Nairobi, Kenya, as part of the International Women's Summit on HIV and AIDS. Forum attendees created an agenda for HIV-positive women and provided them with the opportunity to network and build strategic partnerships. The report evaluates the forum and includes feedback from participants and organizers (World YWCA release, 8/6).
  
  
• "Our Lives Matter: Sex Workers Unite for Health and Rights," Open Society Institute: The report examines how commercial sex workers in eight countries have organized to promote their human rights and health. It also describes how the sex workers have addressed incarceration, violence, extortion and eviction; fought for equal access to health care services; and called for sex work to be officially recognized ("Our Lives Matter: Sex Workers Unite for Health and Rights," Open Society Institute, August 2008).