Mark your calendars for AIDS 2012 sessions on People Who Use Drugs!

indiaaidsalliance 17 July, 2012

India HIV/AIDS Alliance has been working closely with partners worldwide to make sure that the voices of People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) are heard at the upcoming International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC. If you are attending, we encourage you to participate in the events below.
In addition, amfAR and the International AIDS Society have organised an official AIDS 2012 pre-conference—The Twin Epidemics of HIV and Drug Use: Innovative Strategies for Healthy Communities—that will be held on Friday, July 20 in Washington DC. Bringing together experts, professions and policy-makers from the fields of policing, drug policy and HIV care, the preconference will strive to deepen understanding of the ways that enforcement, legal reform and public health can work together to stop the HIV epidemic among PWUD.
All events below take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC, unless otherwise indicated.
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Alliance Exhibition Booth (#102)
Come visit booth #102 to learn about the Alliance’s work in India and around the world, pick up copies of our publications and find out more about the Alliance Regional Technical Support Hubs.
All week, Exhibition Hall, 10:00am-6:30pm
Satellite Session
Reaching Key Populations through SRH/HIV Integration: Opportunities for Impact
Organised by India HIV/AIDS Alliance and chaired by UNAIDS, this session will present programming experiences highlighting the challenges and successful approaches used in integrated programmes specific to key populations, including PWUD. Panelists include the Alliance’s Sunita Grote, USAID’s Clancy Broxton, CAMNAFAW’s Nathalie Nkoume, and NEPHAK’s Rahab Mwaniki.
Sunday, July 22, Global Village Session Room 1, 3:45-5:45pm
Poster Presentation
Addressing vulnerabilities of women who inject drugs: A community-based intervention model towards a holistic response to improve health and reduce HIV transmission among women who inject drugs in Manipur, India (MOPE569)
Monday, July 23, Exhibition Hall, Level 2, 12:30-2:30pm
Panel Discussion
Living Harm Reduction: Lessons Learned from Three Continents
Organised by IDPC and the Alliance, the panel will discuss the work of Community Action on Harm Reduction (CAHR) and will include India HIV/AIDS Alliance’s Charanjit Sharma, Program Manager for Hridaya, the CAHR program in India.
Tuesday, July 24, Global Village Harm Reduction Zone, 4:30-6:00pm
Oral Poster Session
Drugs, Sex and HIV
India HIV/AIDS Alliance’s Kaushik Biswas will present findings from the Hridaya study on injecting practices and sexual behavior of People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) in three Indian states. (TUPDD0204)
Tuesday, July 24, Mini Room 10, 1:00-2:00pm
Panel Discussion
Criminalise Hate Not HIV: Why the HIV/AIDS community should support the decriminalisation of drug use.
Organised by INPUD, HRI, IPPF, IFRC and the Alliance, this panel is chaired by Prasada Rao, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for HIV in Asia and the Pacific and an Alliance Trustee.
Wednesday, July 25, Global Village Harm Reduction Zone, 11:00am-12:00noon
Poster Presentation
What’s harming harm reduction? Reducing HIV vulnerability among women who inject drugs in South Asia (WEPE319)
Wednesday, July 25, Exhibition Hall, Level 2, 12:30-2:30pm
Poster Presentation
Beyond Heroin: Patterns of drug choice diversity among People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) in three Indian states: Findings from the Hridaya baseline study (WEPE302)
Wednesday, July 25, Exhibition Hall, Level 2, 12:30-2:30pm
Poster Presentation
Identifying quality-of-life priorities for People Who Inject Drugs (PWID): Findings from the Hridaya baseline study in three Indian states (WEPE318)
Wednesday, July 25, Exhibition Hall, Level 2, 12:30-2:30pm
Poster Presentation
Reaching PWUD in SRH/HIV integration: Recommendations from a global intervention review to identify strategies to increase the responsiveness and relevance of integrated programming to the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) needs of high-risk groups (WEPE320)
Wednesday, July 25, Exhibition Hall, Level 2, 12:30-2:30pm
Oral Poster Session
Expanding Covering and Quality: Approaches to Scaling-Up
Alliance’s Sunita Grote will present recommendations on reaching Key Populations in SRH/HIV integration, including guidance on services for sex workers, MSM, transgenders, PWUD and PLHIV. (WEPDE0102)
Wednesday, July 25, Mini Room 3, 1:00-2:00pm
Regional Session:  Asia and the Pacific
On the Edge of the Cliff: Debating the Challenges of the Response
Panelists include India HIV/AIDS Alliance’s Charanjit Sharma, Program Manager for Hridaya, the Community Action on Harm Reduction program in India.
Thursday, July 26, Session Room 5, 2:40-4:00pm
Press Conference
Turning the Tide: Addressing SRH Needs of Key Populations in AIDS Programs
This session will include remarks by India HIV/AIDS Alliance partner Daxa Patel, the Board Secretary, Gujarat State Network of PLHIV, and by Sunita Grote from the Alliance.
Thursday, July 26, Media Center, Press Conference Room 2, 3:30-4:00pm
If you have any questions, please contact us at info@allianceindia.org. You can also view our AIDS 2012 Roadmap for all India HIV/AIDS Alliance sessions at the International AIDS Conference. We hope to see you at AIDS 2012!