The United States Conference on AIDS,
one of the largest domestic HIV and AIDS conferences, will hold its annual meeting in Orlando in September.
The United States Conference on AIDS, one of the largest domestic HIV and AIDS conferences, will hold its annual meeting in Orlando in September.
More than 3,000 advocates, educators and leaders are expected to gather at the conference, Sept. 6-9.
“It’s a big deal,” said Nicole Elinoff, co-chair of the host committee in Orlando. “It’s an empowering conference that covers innovation and the care continuum.”
One of the major topics of the conference this year is trauma-informed care.
“Often times when people experience trauma, they may engage in higher-risk activities. They may be seeking comfort that can lead to condomless sex, drug abuse, and not adhering to medication,” said Elinoff. “So everyone needs to be aware of this in the care continuum.”
The conference will also highlight the local community’s efforts, including the mental-health response, after the Pulse tragedy in 2016.
“It will be a pivotal conversation during the week of the conference,” said Elinoff.
But more importantly, the conference’s goal is to remind people that the fight against HIV is not over, particularly in the southern U.S., which has become the epicenter of the HIV epidemic.
More than a million people in the United States live with HIV, and there are nearly 40,000 new infections each year.
“Unless there’s a cure or vaccine, we have to provide care for these people,” said Chip Lewis, director of communications for NMAC, the organization behind the conference. “Ending the epidemic is an important part, but that’s not the final end goal. The final goal is curing those who are infected.”
The conference’s theme this year is “Fight back. Fight HIV.”
“We want to rekindle some of the activism in HIV,” said Lewis. “I know people who are HIV positive and have not died from it. But people who are 10, 15 years older than me have seen a lot of death. And people younger than, it’s history for them. It’s not scary for them. There’s a loss of concern about it. That’s why it’s important to push activism and get them engaged and involved.”
Larry Kramer, a prominent activist, founder of Gay Men’s Health Crisis and Act Up, and author of “The Normal Heart,” is one of the speakers at the conference.
“Those who survived the early days of the epidemic and all those currently living with HIV who are thriving owe a debt of gratitude to Larry,” said Paul Kawata, executive director of NMAC, which was known as National Minority AIDS Council when it was formed in 1987, in a news release.
For more information, visit 2018usca.org.