13th Annual HIV / AIDS Update Meeting
- Post by: admin
- December 9, 2021
In 2021 from 3rd to 5th November, JCRC organized and conducted the HIV Update meeting in collaboration with its local (Mildmay Uganda, The AIDS Support Organization (TASO), Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI); Makerere University College of health Sciences, Center for Diseases Control (CDC) – Uganda, AIDS Information Centre (AIC), Baylor Children’s foundation Uganda, Makerere University John Hopkins collaboration (MUJHU), Ministry of Health (MoH) and Uganda Hearth Institute) and international partners ( Dr Ian Gilson, Dr Richard Elion, Dr Sax Paul Edward, Dr Glenn Treismann, Michael Madalone and Dr Frank Rhame) with over 425 participants in attendance on each of the days of the meeting.
The HIV Update meeting is a very important assembly of scientists, clinicians, policy makers, government leaders, and the public, who are involved in overcoming the evolving challenges in HIV care, treatment, and research. It offers an opportunity for participants especially health care workers in country and the African region to get the latest updates in HIV care, management, treatment, prevention, and diagnostics as presented at international meetings where groundbreaking discoveries are discussed and many of us are not able to attend. But the meeting also covers presentations on outstanding findings on research done locally in Uganda and the region. The HIV Update meeting summarizes all research findings that are applicable in the Africa setting and paves way for their translation into practice.
Given this year we are still grappling with the COVID-19 epidemic, it did feature greatly in the 13th HIV Update meeting. Some of the topics were Outcomes of the COVID19 Therapy Study in Uganda, Updates on SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance and vaccine research, COVID-19 Vaccine updates and emerging issues, COVID-19 and Thrombosis and COVID-19 and mental health. Sometime was also spent on examining the effect of COVID-19 on the HIV Care and Treatment programs.
JCRC is indebted to all the sponsors individual and corporate that made the HIV Update meeting possible including Governor of Baseball Allan Selig of USA (Dr Elion linkage), Simply Speaking- USA, and the late Prof. Frank Graziano. We lost Prof Frank Graziano to Cancer on 22nd Sept 2021. He loved JCRC, and he has collaborated with JCRC since 2004 as we try to achieve our mission to conduct quality medical research and training, provide equitable and sustainable HIV/AIDS care and other health care services in Uganda and internationally. Even on this death bed, Prof Frank Graziano donated $ 73,000 to support this and future HIV Update meetings. We thank God for the self-sacrificing legacy he has left behind. We highly appreciate his continued support that has always enabled us to organize successful meetings for the last 12 years.