Table of Contents
- 31st Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2024)
- AIDSWatch 2024
- International Workshop on HIV & Women (IWHW)
- Iris House 19th Annual Women as the Face of AIDS Summit
- SYNChronicity, the Tenth Annual National Conference for HIV, HCV, STIs, Harm Reduction, and LGBTQ Health (SYNC 2024)
- SHE Is Women's Conference
- MPT Summit: Envisioning the Future of HIV/STI Prevention and Contraception
The Well Project's team and community members were everywhere this spring! Well, perhaps not everywhere – but we had a brisk presence at conferences around the US which included opportunities to present on our program areas, share our materials, and network with partners and other allies and friends.
31st Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2024) – March 3-6
There are always fascinating things to learn – and areas of improvement to identify – at the world's premier HIV research meeting. CROI 2024 was a hybrid conference, and The Well Project stakeholder liaison Bridgette Picou, LVN, ACLPN, reported on her experiences from on the ground in Denver, Colorado. She wrote an illuminating overview of the conference: its purpose and offerings, as well as its historic challenges integrating community involvement into its model.
"It is harmful to the community folks who are present at these conferences to feel like we are only valuable in the context of our bodies, our cells, and the virus that lives within us. That is the message sent when science community members walk out on presentations given by members of communities most affected by HIV," Bridgette writes. "It feels, to me, like there is this weird separation between the two, when the fact is we need each other in so many ways."
Bridgette also enjoyed, and summarized, an incisive plenary talk by globally renowned researcher Nelly Mugo, MBChB, MMed, MPH, about failures and opportunities to address cervical cancer in women worldwide, particularly women living with HIV. Editorial director Olivia G. Ford attended online conference sessions and submitted her take on several posters focused on research related to breast milk as part of The Well Project's extensive programming around infant feeding and HIV. Bridgette also shouted out our infant-feeding programming in a brief video interview of conference takeaways with HIV.gov.
AIDSWatch 2024 – March 17-19
For 30 years, people living with HIV and allies from across the US have gathered to network, learn, and raise their voices in Washington, DC, for the US's largest annual constituent-based HIV advocacy event.
What better audience could there be to engage to spread the word about groundbreaking updates to the breast/chestfeeding guidance in the US Perinatal HIV Guidelines? Olivia joined fellow (sister!) The Well Project staffer Ciarra "Ci Ci" Covin and community advisory board (CAB) member Heather O'Connor to copresent a workshop titled "Updated Infant Feeding Recommendations for US Parents Living with HIV" – and introduced more community members to BEEEBAH (Building Equity, Ethics, and Education on Breastfeeding and HIV) materials and messages.
Further, for a thoughtful, vulnerable account of the meeting through the lens of one woman's journey back to advocacy and connection with community, read A Girl Like Me blogger (and brand-new CAB member!) Marcya Gullatte's "My Road to AIDSWatch 2024."
International Workshop on HIV & Women (IWHW) 2024 – April 12-13
Like CROI (and sometimes collocated with it, though IWHW 2024 took place separately, in Washington, DC, and online), though much smaller and, arguably, more suffused with passion and collaboration, this annual research conference draws presenters and participants from around the world. Healthcare providers, researchers, and representatives from government, industry, and community groups gather to discuss, debate, and further their knowledge on concerns related to women and HIV.
After a harrowing trip to DC, CAB member Kim Canady, along with Ci Ci from The Well Project's staff, presented a poster titled "Flourishing with HIV: A Roadmap for Women and Girls" as part of their longstanding collaboration with several partner organizations through CityMatCH. CAB member (and WebMD writer!) Katie Willingham also reported on the conference virtually. She shared her thoughts on several aspect of the conference – including inclusion (or lack thereof) of trans women – in a blog entry. She also wrote about her perspectives on sessions covering topics ranging from disentangling menopause symptoms from those of other conditions, to a debate among experts about hypertension and HIV treatment, to talks by several researchers from Katie's home state of Alabama. Our executive director Krista Martel staffed a table sharing our printed materials in the exhibit area of the gathering.
Natasha Davies, MD, of Anova Health Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa, was inspired by her experience at IWHW 2023 to spearhead INFORM+ (International Feeding Choices Forum for People Living with HIV), of which Ci Ci and Olivia from The Well Project's staff were early members. At IWHW 2024 this year, Natasha delivered an impassioned, informative, and provocative talk titled "Infant Feeding Choices for Parents Living With HIV: Updates From the INFORM+ Forum Group." In it, she recounts last year's experience and makes a powerful case for providers to build trust with parents living with HIV by providing full information, uncoerced choice, and unqualified, unswerving support.
Iris House 19th Annual Women as the Face of AIDS Summit – May 6
As longtime partners with Iris House and regular collaborators on the summit, attendance at this East Harlem, New York City event is a yearly pilgrimage for many members of The Well Project's team! Our board chair, Linda Scruggs, DLH, MHS, LPC, gave the afternoon plenary session speech, themed "Yes You Can: Mobilization for a New Era of HIV." The Well Project staffer Ci Ci (Momtonomy), CAB members Kim (Conversations with Kim) and Masonia Traylor (Lady Burgandy), and partner organization leader Lynette Trawick (I Am U, Inc.) presented a powerhouse workshop under the auspices of the organizations each of them founded. "Missing Pieces - An Exploration of Peer Support among Black Women and LeadershipDevelopment in the HIV/AIDS Movement" detailed the power of peer support, particularly among Black women in the HIV movement across generations. Krista and Olivia were in the audience to support. Afterwards, during dessert hour in the exhibit hall, the team at The Well Project's exhibit table was joined by a special guest: The Well Project's longtime freelance art director, Darlene "Dar" Harden! They all had the pleasure of connecting with community members while distributing many beautiful informational pamphlets on sexual and reproductive health and HIV designed by Dar.
SYNChronicity, the Tenth Annual National Conference for HIV, HCV, STIs, Harm Reduction, and LGBTQ Health (SYNC 2024) – May 29-31
A conference not exclusively focused on HIV is always a treat, affording opportunities to introduce The Well Project's work and resources to new audiences in intersecting communities. SYNC 2024 fit that bill, bringing together a diverse community of participants to explore multi-disciplinary content and promote purposeful interaction and interconnectedness in a changing healthcare landscape. Olivia co-presented with Kae Greenberg from The Well Project partner and frequent collaborator Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP), on infant feeding and the family surveillance system in the context of HIV criminalization, for a half-day symposium titled "Unveiling HIV: Challenging Assumptions on Molecular Surveillance and Criminalization." Panels were stacked with visionary advocates from CHLP and other partner organizations including International Community of Women Living with HIV – North America, Positive Women's Network – USA, and Sero Project.
SHE Is Women's Conference – June 8
A very special event debuted in Palm Springs, California, in June. Coordinated and moderated by local powerhouse Bridgette Picou, the SHE Is Women's Conference was a collaboration between the HIV+ Aging Research Project-Palm Springs and The Well Project. The "SHE" stands for "Shifting the narrative / Healing her spirit / Embracing the future."
SHE Is created a safe space for women living with HIV of all genders, providers, and allies to come together to build community, learn skills to help them thrive on their journey with HIV, and have some fun as well. Read more about this phenomenal event – including photos and session video!
MPT Summit: Envisioning the Future of HIV/STI Prevention and Contraception – June 24-25
Exploration of multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs) to simultaneously prevent HIV, other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and/or pregnancy, is exciting and ongoing. Bridgette was on hand to participate and speak on a panel at the MPT Summit in Maryland. Community members and other stakeholders from across the fields of HIV, other STIs, and contraception gathered to discuss and build upon the work accomplished over the past 15 years to advance the field of MPTs and explore what is needed to help ensure MPTs reach the hands of individuals who could benefit from them.
Stay tuned for The Well Project community perspectives from the International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2024) in Munich, Germany, as well as our coverage of the US Conference on HIV/AIDS and other gatherings coming up in fall 2024 and beyond!
