Day two of the IAS 2015 conference has wrapped up! Check out our wrap-up below.

Implementing and Evaluating HIV-related Stigma Mitigation Intervention

Speakers: Laura Nyblade, Anton Best, Ron Maclinnis
Represented Organizations: Health Policy Project (DHS)

Talk underlined progress in the past decade on HIV related stigma reduction. HPP package trains all health care facilities workers, and then suggestion creating codes of conduct to ensure accountability. Next steps include policy development and implementing training programs at all levels where stigma exists.

Key Points

• DHS has been revised and need model needs to be used.
• Aim to achieve universal access to HIV services through stigma mitigation.
• Study on the prevalence and nature of stigma in healthcare settings in Barbados revealed 1/3 of the 400 respondent were worried about drawing blood from people with HIV and took what they felt were unnecessary precautions i.e. double gloving.
• In Ghana sex workers and MSMs are illegal, new model creates a more inclusive approach for health care practitioners to better help the former populations .
• Staff encouraged to report human rights injustices stemming from access to HIV service violations.
• To train CHRAJ staff to provide services free from stigma or discrimination.

Prospective Questions

• How can we start to measure stigma and its effects from an intersectional perspective?

90-90-90 Delivering on the Targets

Speakers: Doherty, Levi, Wolff, Rawat, Wilkinson and Kunisaki
Represented Organizations: WHO

The seminar illuminate the key populations that need to be focused on to achieve the 90-90-90 goals. There are currently no countries that have met the 78% of the targets to date. For example some key population that need to be targeted in order to achieve the first 90, which is primarily those who have never tested and this who are repeatedly engaging in high risk activities. Also, there seems to be a greater push to do outreach work to gain access to untapped population that may at risk.

Key Points

• Uptake and adoption of WHO 2013 ARV guidelines. Can UNAIDS 90-90-90 target be achieved?
• Major outcomes of HAART programs come down to adherence.
• Interesting HIV care into primary care clinics (Africa), doesn't compromise initial primary care service.
• Adherence club model had a large impact in adherence.
• Advancement in ART had reduced the mortality rate of people with HIV access to the latest medicines in middle and low income countries. This translates to better survival rates.

Prospective Questions

• Would the adherence club model work in Vancouver with the IDU community?

More Information

• www.unaids.org/en/resources/documents/2014/90-90-90

The Developing world in our backyard: Concentrated HIV Epidemic in High Income Settings

Speakers: Wong, Poitras, Schafer
Represented Organizations: University of Saskatchewan, CDC, Wake Forest School of Medicine

The purpose of the seminar is to illustrate current and changing climate of a few locations: in particular Saskatchewan (Canada) and Indiana (USA). For example currently in Regina, the 450 infected HIV individuals have a lack of addictions counselling and variable access to harm reduction. An important issue to note is the tight clustering of indigenous people who are at risk are served better when the health care plan is rooted in a spiritual holistic way. Lastly, the recent Indian outbreak in the USA would be indicative of the prospective trend of future new HIV cases among injection drug users who live in rural communities who are predominantly white males.

Key Points

• Tight cluster of high risk individual.
• Painful realities (rural, remote, geographical) prevention: limited primary prevention initiatives, widely variable access to harm reduction and addictions support.
• 2015 new 11 new HIV infections recorded in the Indiana outbreak.
• As of June 14—> 170 new HIV diagnosis.
• Small community high injection drug use was prevalent, paired with opioid abuse. 
• Median age of 32, male 55%, No one had insurance and all white, rural phenomenon. 
• Testing challenges: access to specialist, care to local primary centers, outreach expanding by limited in scope.

Prospective Questions

• Since one is able to predict the newer demographics that are at risk, are agencies planning on catering a new outreach programs to better capture these individuals? 
• In Indiana, since middle aged white men in rural communities are at high risk, are resource reallocation being monitored?

Stay tuned for more updates from #IAS2015!