2nd African Conference on Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research
-------------------------------------------------------------
9 - 12 May, 2004
Cape Town International Conference Centre
South Africa
Conference Theme:
"Social Aspects of Access to Care and Treatment"
A Unique Opportunity for African Stakeholders to Discuss Emer-
gent Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research
Organised by Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)
South Africa
Social Aspects of Aids Research Alliance (SAHARA)
CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
The conference will bring together stakeholders interested in
the Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research in Africa. The confer-
ence is expected to be all embracing of all institutions, net-
works and alliances and would be widely disseminated through
AFRO-NETS, AFAIDS and other dissemination channels. All inter-
ested stakeholders are urged to distribute the announcement of
this meeting. The outcome of the African Conference should be of
specific interest to researchers and policymakers who would like
to promote SAHARA within the New Partnership for African Devel-
opment (NEPAD).
The Human Sciences Research Council is establishing an alliance
of partners to conduct, support and use social sciences research
to prevent further spread of HIV and mitigate the impact of its
devastation on South Africa, the SADC region and sub-Saharan Af-
rica. This Social Aspects of AIDS Research Alliance (SAHARA) is
a vehicle for facilitating the sharing of research expertise,
sharing knowledge, conducting multi-site and multi-country re-
search projects that are exploratory, cross-sectional, compara-
tive or intervention-based with the explicit aim of generating
new social science evidence for prevention, care and impact
mitigation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on individuals, families and
communities. This is to be done within the social development
framework that takes into account the cultural environment
within which human and social behaviour, and relevant programmes
occur.
We are beginning to bring key partners in the region, including
policy makers, programme planners, researchers in universities
and fellow science councils (notably the Medical Research Coun-
cil in South Africa), NGO's, community groups, donors and multi-
lateral agencies to participate in a flexible alliance for so-
cial aspects of AIDS research, each contributing on the basis of
its comparative advantage. We are building on existing initia-
tives (SAHARA West Africa, and SAHARA East & Central Africa) and
starting new ones where necessary. We have already secured fund-
ing to undertake some of the activities. We now need to extend
this further into South Africa, the SADC and other regions of
Africa in line with the imperatives and challenges presented by
the African Union (AU)'s New Partnership for African Development
(NEPAD).
AFRICAN CONFERENCE
The African Conference will be a vehicle to improve the effec-
tiveness of the SAHARA and to integrate its activities more
closely with those of other organizations and individuals active
in HIV and AIDS control within the African continent, through
sharing information on progress and experience on social aspects
of HIV/AIDS research. This is particularly so in view of the in-
crease in overall activity anticipated following the recent es-
tablishment of the Global Fund against Aids, Tuberculosis and
Malaria and other international initiatives to mitigate the
problem of HIV/AIDS particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. It will
identify the barriers to interaction between researchers and de-
cision makers in government ministries so as to enhance the im-
pact of research on effective programmes to reduce the spread of
HIV/AIDS in Africa. The conference will be a unique opportunity
for African researchers to make inputs to a continent wide re-
search alliance on social aspects of HIV/AIDS.
Indeed, the preliminary results that are available from differ-
ent research sites in Africa may be especially valuable to in-
form the development of appropriate and comprehensive locally
initiated HIV and AIDS control strategies. Leading researchers
and policy makers, representatives of UN agencies, non-
governmental health and development organizations will be in-
vited to participate, offer their perspectives, and government
officials to provide insights into the decision-making proc-
esses.
Thematic keynote presentations will be from outstanding re-
searchers from the Africa region. They will be challenged to
link research to a practical action agenda for HIV/AIDS preven-
tion strategies that involve local communities and people living
with AIDS or are affected by it.
The proposed nine thematic tracts of the conference are:
1. Nutrition and food security
2. Policies of access to care
3. Stigma in relation to care
4. Cultural and communal mobilization
5. Human Rights - legal and Customary Law issues related to care
6. Drug and trade related issues
7. The financing of AIDS
8. Orphans and vulnerable children
9. HIV surveillance
Participants will be challenged to examine specific operational
research questions such as whether urban-based or rural-based
programmes are more effective in reducing HIV infection in rural
areas and what are the information gaps. Can bar-based and work-
place peer education and condom distribution activities reduce
the high HIV infection rates seen in young women? What are the
implications of condoms for family planning in the era of
HIV/AIDS? Do school education or membership of community groups
help young women to avoid HIV? Do paternal and maternal orphan
hood harm the educational opportunities of boys and girls? How
effective are HIV intervention programmes in reaching marginal-
ized groups such as disabled persons and street kids?
Papers accepted for presentation will be considered and pub-
lished in the Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research
that is being published with support of SAHARA. This should
serve as a catalyst for broader discussion of an action agenda
by SAHARA for promoting HIV/AIDS research issues that concern
the African continent. Specific follow-up implementation activi-
ties for turning words into action will be proposed and to bring
together African researchers, policymakers and programme plan-
ners to forge continent wide-alliances and with donors and col-
laborating partners in the north to facilitate HIV/AIDS social
research that is effective and can lead to measurable interven-
tions.
About 300 participants are expected to attend the Conference,
from research institutions, national and international organiza-
tions, NGOs, and donor agencies. To ensure that the conference
offers an African perspective, we have encouraged the regional
SAHARA centers in Africa to forward prospective names from their
respective regions to the conference. We envisage a geographical
breakdown as follows:
Central Africa: 9 Speakers, 41 delegates
East Africa: 9 Speakers, 41 delegates
West Africa: 9 Speakers, 41 delegates
Southern Africa: 9 Speakers, 141 delegates (41 from neighbouring
SADC countries and 100 from South Africa)
English and French are the official languages of the Conference.
There will be skills workshops and community outreach trips of-
fered on all the full days of the Conference and will occur from
13:00 until 17:00 daily.
ABSTRACTS, PAPERS AND POSTERS
The theme of the Conference is Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Re-
search: Promoting an African Alliance to Mitigate the Effects of
HIV/AIDS on a Sustainable Basis.
Authors are invited to present abstracts of papers/posters that
address the theme of the Conference to link behavioural and so-
cial aspects of HIV/AIDS research and interventions in African
populations.
CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES
* To brief researchers, policy and decision makers, donors and
other interested stakeholders about the work of the Social As-
pects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance (SAHARA) advised by a refer-
ence group of key stakeholders from relevant sectors.
* To share emerging results from research sites in Africa on the
social aspects of HIV/AIDS research including scientific evalua-
tion of HIV/STD prevention activities and lessons learnt in the
course of implementing programme activities.
* To strengthen linkages, collaboration, and coordination of SA-
HARA, in order to make it an effective broad-based research net-
work, and a flexible alliance of research partners committed to
conducting or supporting quality research necessary for urgent
policy planning and implementation.
* To issue policy briefs on all the thematic tracts to policy
makers, government representatives and inter-governmental bod-
ies.
METHODOLOGY AND CONFERENCE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
The themes of the Conference will be discussed through keynote
commissioned papers, plenary sessions, panel discussions, and
workshops.
* Keynote Commissioned papers on thematic and substantive issues
on Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS in Africa.
* Plenary sessions: These will include selected scientific re-
ports from researchers and other stakeholders responding to call
for papers for the Conference.
* Workshops on Electronic Networking in Africa and links to pro-
jects on research databases such as SHARED, AFRO-NETS and AFRO-
AIDSINFO PORTAL.
* Constituency meetings of agencies such as SAHARA Reference
Group etc.
* Scientific exhibitions by invitation only.
* An editorial structure for the abstracts will be established
so that at the end of the conference, policy briefs are issued
on all the thematic tracts.
Abstract submission for papers and workshops
Deadline for abstract submission is: 20 March 2004
Communication about acceptance of abstracts: 31 March 2004
Format of abstract is: 300 words, Background, Method, Results
and Conclusion.
Submit abstracts to:
Prof Karl Peltzer
Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS & Health
Human Sciences Research Council
Private Bag X9182, Cape Town 8000
South Africa
mailto:llamour@hsrc.ac.za
Tel: +27-21-467-4472
Fax: +27-21-461-2696 or 461-0299
Conference chair, information and organization:
Dr Olive Shisana
Executive Director
Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS & Health
Human Sciences Research Council
Private Bag X9182, Cape Town 8000
South Africa
Tel: +27-12-302-2860
mailto:mrousseau-maree@hsrc.ac.za
--
Lisa Lamour
Administrative Assistant: Prof. Karl Peltzer & Prof. John Seager
Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS & Health
Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)
Tel: +27-21-467-4472
Fax: +27-21-461-0299
mailto:llamour@hsrc.ac.za