The International AIDS Conference begins in Washington DC on 22
nd
July 2012 and the theme this year is ‘Turning the tide’. Academics, activists, health care professionals, people living with HIV and carers from around the world will meet to assess where we are, evaluate new scientific evidence and call for action on the fight against HIV.
The Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance alongside other palliative care organisations from around the world will be attending to raise awareness and understanding of hospice and palliative care for people living with HIV. Despite many misconceptions, the need for palliative care remains enormous. In 2010, there were 2.7 million new HIV infections globally and 1.8 million AIDS-related deaths. Yet, 42% of 234 countries of the world have no identified hospice or palliative care services at all and 80% of the world’s population live in countries with low or no access to treatment for moderate to severe pain.
Palliative Care at AIDS 2012
Thirteen organisations from around the world, including the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance, will be hosting a booth space in Hall C, Booth 24. (OSI International Palliative Care Initiative).
Come and meet people working in palliative care and care and support at the International AIDS conference to find out the work that is being done to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV, to support treatment adherence, to increase access to vital treatment for pain and other distressing symptoms and to tackle the issues facing an ageing population. Short films on the issue will also be shown throughout the week.
A reception (invitation only) will be held on Monday 23 July for people attending the AIDS conference to network and discuss palliative care as a key element of HIV treatment, care and support.
Read our brochure on “What does palliative care have to do with HIV and AIDS?”
To find out more about care and support activities in the programme during the conference go to this webpage. At the bottom left, you can see a section entitled ROADMAPS where you can find the roadmap for care and support activities throughout the conference.
Download website details for the participating palliative care organisations.
Caregiver’s Zone and Faith Zone – Global Village
The Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance has been working with the Caregiver’s Action Network and UK Consortium on AIDS and International Development to facilitate the Caregivers Zone in the Global Village. This will be a vibrant space where caregivers and those working in care and support can come together to share their experiences and learn from each other.
There is a full programme of activities across the week. Don’t miss Eunice Garanganga, HOSPAZ Zimbabwe, talking about the role of palliative care and caregivers in supporting bereaved family members (Monday 23
rd
July – 1630-1800) and Kim Green, Family Health International Ghana, talking about how palliative care supports caregivers and treatment adherence, retention and recruitment. (Wednesday 25
th
July – 15.15-16.15) and the Denial of Pain Treatment session on Thursday, July 26—from 14:30-16:00 in the Global Village Human Rights Networking Zone.
Download the full programme of activities for the caregiver's zone
View the key messages from the zone for AIDS 2012
Find out more from the Caregivers Action Network website
Human Rights Zone – Global Village
Joe Amon from Human Rights Watch will address pain relief as a human right; Jenna Kohnke from Global Access to Pain Relief (GAPRI) will present their Treat the Pain campaign; Joan Marston from the International Children’s Palliative Care Network will speak about pain in children. Stephen Connor from the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance will moderate the session. (date and time to follow)
Community dialogue space – Global Village
Dr Zipporah Ali from the Kenyan Hospices and Palliative Care Association has co-organised a session on ‘Meeting the African Leaders’ in the Community Dialogue space on 26 July from 2.30-4.00.
Download the flyer.
Thanks to the Open Society Institute’s International Palliative Care Initiative for their consistent support of palliative care development around the world.
