Pact convenes leaders in reaching adolescent girls and young women at International AIDS Conference

On Saturday, July 21, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Pact will bring together more than 50 experts in reaching one of the most vulnerable populations to HIV, adolescent girls and young women.

Every day, nearly 1,000 young women become infected with HIV. Due to a host of interpersonal and social factors, they are among the most vulnerable populations to contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The workshop will explore avenues for addressing the needs of these young women and take a focused look at key populations within the broader population. Speakers include representatives of UNICEF, USAID, GirlEffect, 4Children, Grassroots Soccer, Discovery and Pact, as well as two adolescent girls from Zambia and South Africa.

In addition to the pre-conference, Pact staff from around the world will join other leaders from the scientific, advocacy and human rights communities to present key results and lessons from our work to stop the spread of HIV and improve the lives of people affected by the disease.

Presentations featuring Pact staff include:

• Addressing the Needs of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in the Fight Against HIV and AIDS
• Capacity development for improved performance of organizations serving key populations with HIV services
• Pathway to improved health outcomes and graduation of orphans and vulnerable children in the context of a generalized HIV/AIDS epidemic. Experience from Swaziland Umliba Loya Embili project
• What are socio-demographic characteristics associated with uncollected HIV test results among caregivers of orphaned and vulnerable children in Tanzania?
• Does food insecurity affect adherence to antiretroviral therapy among caregivers of orphaned and vulnerable children in Tanzania?
• Efficacy of community intervention in generating demand for ANC and PMTCT services in rural areas of Bayelsa State, Nigeria
• Child labor in Tanzanian small-scale gold mines: high HIV and violence risk
• Ambitious goals, restrictive environments: Accelerating HIV testing uptake among men who have sex with men in Jakarta's Fast-Track response

These presentations highlight Pact’s commitment to the global mandate to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 and to the Fast Track goals to reach 90-90-90 by 2020. To learn more about the International AIDS Conference, visit the conference website.

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