HIV News Around The Globe

Social Media and Public Health

Social media plays a significant role in HIV prevention by serving as a powerful tool for education, awareness, support, and destigmatization. Among the many other benefits of social media , these platforms provide a quick and accessible way to disseminate information about HIV prevention methods, testing locations, and treatment options. Educational content, infographics, and video materials can reach a wide audience, helping to raise awareness and promote understanding.In this article, social media is seen as a tool used to spread misinformation and subsequently promote anti vaccine ideologies. Vaccination experts have become increasingly alarmed about the continued waning of public confidence in vaccines. Social media are considered to be major contributors to this decline, facilitating the rapid and widespread sharing of misinformation, enabling vaccine anxieties and rumors to travel rapidly around the world.Social media are also seen to have enabled vocal anti-vaccination groups to self-organize and communicate well beyond their local areas.The covid-19 pandemic has only magnified these concerns,as Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization put it, “We’re not just fighting a pandemic; we’re fighting an infodemic. Read more on this article here. 

Related resources

1.  https://www.risingbd.com/english/interview/news/101387

2. https://www.thedrum.com/news/2023/06/21/how-hiv-ireland-used-social-media-support-people-living-with-the-virus

3. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/997797?form=fpf

MOSAIC conducted a comprehensive review of all the previous PrEP demand generation work and formative research in eight countries to make use of their knowledge of what has worked and hasn't in HIV prevention demand generation.

To develop a new brand strategy, they held working sessions and workshops with MOSAIC’s youth advisors, who played a significant role in ensuring that insights from the target audience were incorporated into the strategy and resonated with young women in their respective countries. They also held consultations with MOSAIC country partners, Ministry of Health representatives, donors, advocates and activists to ensure the strategy will work in their contexts, to obtain buy-in, and to develop plans for real-world use of the work.

Read here on the findings of this review.

The African Workshop on HIV & Women 2024 is fast approaching 📢

Secure your spot in this innovative workshop filled with cross-disciplinary discussions & insights, dedicated to optimizing healthcare for women living with HIV in Africa.

Date: 22-23 February 2024 Location: Nairobi, Kenya Format: Hybrid For more information visit this website or register here

Other Events

Passionate about Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)?

AfNHi, in collaboration with CASPR, invites applications from dedicated SRHR Advocates to join the Mentorship Programme for 2024. AfNHi Youth Cohort in this initiative will lead Youth engagement in social mobilization campaigns and actively mobilize young people to support civil society action in targeted countries in line with AfNHi priority campaign issues.

Click below to apply and join the 2024 Youth Cohort

https://forms.gle/mtTBuei1sVBRotq77

Deadline: 31st January 2024

Seize this opportunity to make a difference! 🚀🌈 #EndNewInfections #Mentorship2024

The Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) was established in 1993 to provide a forum for basic scientists and clinical investigators to present, discuss, and critique their investigations into the epidemiology and biology of human retroviruses and associated diseases. The synergy of basic science and clinical investigation has been a major contributor to the success of the meeting. CROI has facilitated the presentation of important discoveries in the field, thereby accelerating progress in HIV and AIDS research. The best and most consequential original research defines the science at CROI, including research in HIV, hepatitis viruses, SARS-CoV-2, mpox, and other viral infections and their related conditions.

Attendance at the conference is open to researchers and clinical educators actively involved in the study and management of HIV, other retroviruses, and related medical conditions. Limited space is also available to members of the media whose work aligns with the scientific and educational aims of the conference.

For more information on the production of each conference, view this CROI Infographic (based on virtual CROI 2021).Find out more here

International Conference on HIV Treatment, Pathogenesis, and Prevention Research (INTEREST)

The annual INTEREST Conference is the premier scientific conference for HIV in Africa and brings together scientists involved in HIV treatment, pathogenesis, and prevention research from around the world. The conference will showcase cutting-edge knowledge in the diagnosis and treatment of HIV and the prevention of the HIV-1 infection. Additionally, it will continue to foster building a community of African physicians and scientists to facilitate the implementation of local solutions for the management of patients living with HIV-1 infection and for the prevention of HIV transmission.

INTEREST 2023 took place in Maputo, Mozambique and attracted over 700 delegates. The program consisted of invited lectures, oral abstract presentations, a debate, skill-building sessions, panel discussions, and sponsored symposia.

SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT HERE

Abstract Submission Deadline: Friday, February 2, 2024