Microbicides 2012 Registration is Open!

"To share in the latest developments in HIV prevention through microbicides and other technologies, this is the conference to attend. The conference is the key event in the microbicides world, where cutting edge research will be presented by world experts, and you will have a chance to interact with people involved at every level of microbicides development "-Professor John Kaldor, The Kirby Institute and Conference co-Chair

Come to Sydney in April for the 2012 International Microbicides Conference - 'From Discovery to Delivery', with state of the art plenary lectures on microbicides and other aspects of HIV prevention research, cross-disciplinary symposia, oral abstracts, and poster sessions.

M2012 will be a global forum for the presentation and discussion of the latest information on microbicides and oral pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention and their interface with other prevention strategies. There will be a strong emphasis on the role of community in both research and implementation of scientific findings. The conference is interdisciplinary, and will include basic science, pharmacokinetics, formulation and delivery, clinical research, public health, prevention science, and social and behavioural research.

Why Should You Come?

1. LEARN... From experts from around the world who will speak on key issues in HIV prevention technologies.
2. NETWORK... with a cross-disciplinary group of researchers, community representatives and policy makers, to support you in applying new approaches and perspectives in your work.
3. PARTICIPATE... in sessions that will range from state of the art lectures, to debates on hot topics in microbicides development.

Learn more here!


[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position.]

AIDS Battle Risks Being Derailed by Global Financial Crisis

via Nature, by Meredith Wadman

Thirty years after AIDS was first recognized as a human scourge, major recent gains in treatment and prevention risk being derailed by the global financial crisis.

On 23 November, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced that it will not fund new grants for prevention and treatment until 2014, owing to “substantial budget challenges in some donor countries”. The fund's HIV activities run the gamut from counselling and testing pregnant women in India to providing medications to infected children in Kenya.

And on 7 December, a report from Policy Cures in Sydney, Australia, a group that monitors global research and development for neglected diseases, showed that public and private funders last year cut their commitments to HIV/AIDS research targeted at the developing world by US$67.5 million, or 5.9%. The decline was due entirely to cutbacks by wealthy nations, which slashed spending by $72.6 million; poorer countries actually increased funding by $5.1 million. Where research is concerned, “AIDS had a bigger drop in dollar terms than any other disease”, says Mary Moran, the executive director of Policy Cures and the lead author on the report.

The threat comes even as US President Barack Obama last week promised that the United States will step up its worldwide attack on AIDS. Breaking the White House's past reticence on the issue, he urged nations to honour their unmet pledges to the Global Fund.

“Countries that have committed to the Global Fund need to give the money that they promised,” he said on 1 December, World AIDS Day. “Countries that haven't made a pledge, they need to do so,” he added, singling out emerging nations such as China that are recipients of funds “but now are in a position to step up as major donors”.

The United States has given $6.1 billion to the Global Fund since 2004, and last year pledged to contribute $4 billion between 2011 and 2013. Congress approved $1.05 billion in 2011, meaning that allotments must increase substantially in 2012 and 2013 to honour the pledge. Obama has asked Congress to provide $1.3 billion in 2012, but Senate lawmakers have so far resisted the increase.

Obama pledged to increase by 50% — to 6 million — the number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) worldwide by 2013 through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the nation's major global treatment and prevention programme. He also said PEPFAR would aim to provide ART to an additional 1.5 million pregnant women with HIV in the next two years. The international promises came with no new money immediately attached. But Obama has asked Congress to provide nearly $7.2 billion — a 6% increase — for PEPFAR in 2012, part of the unfinished budget bills still being debated.

Advocates said that his speech marked a significant turning point. “This is the first time he's signalled that he's going to champion global HIV in this way,” says Jennifer Cohn, an assistant professor of infectious diseases at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and a policy adviser in Nairobi for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; also known as Doctors Without Borders). “Whether or not this gets translated into the president's 2013 budget request, or what Congress chooses to protect during the 2012 budget negotiations — that's what I'm waiting to hear.”

Read the rest.


[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position.]

2012 International Microbicides Conference (M2012) in Sydney, Australia

The next International Microbicides Conference will be held in Sydney, Australia from April 15-18th, 2012!

Registration
Registration is not yet open, but to submit an expression of interest, please click here. By submitting this, you will be contacted as soon as official registration opens!

Abstract Submission
The 2012 International Microbicides Conference (M2012) invites papers of high quality in the areas of HIV prevention, with a particular focus on microbicides, oral chemoprophylaxis, and their interface with other prevention strategies. The conference is interdisciplinary, and encourages the full involvement of communities and individuals affected by HIV. Abstract submissions will be reviewed by the Scientific Program Committee for content, presentation, timeliness, and current interest of the topic to M2012 participants. Abstracts are welcomed from researchers, program implementers, policy makers, advocates, and community members, and will be considered for inclusion provided they meet the guidelines below.

Please click here to view the abstract submission guidelines.  Authors should submit abstracts no later than 5pm AEST time on Thursday 17 November 2011. Click here for more information and details about uploading your abstract.

Scholarships
Scholarships are available to attend the 2012 International Microbicides Conference (M2012) in Sydney, Australia.

Scholarships will be offered in four categories that have distinct criteria:
1. Research
2. Community
3. Government Official/Public Health Policy
4. Media (Further details to come - Media scholarships will open 23 September)

Scholarship applications are due 5:00 pm AEST on Thursday 17 November 2011.  Click here for more details about scholarships and to apply.

For any other information about M2012 please go to microbicides2012.org.


[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position.]

2012 International Microbicides Conference Scholarship and Abstract Opportunity!

via International Microbicides Conference Secretariat

Do you need funding to attend M2012?

The M2012 organisers are pleased to announce that scholarships are available to attend the conference in Sydney, Australia. Scholarships will be offered in four categories that each have distinct criteria:

1. Research

2. Community

3. Government Official/ Public Health Policy

4. Media

Click here to find out how to apply for the scholarship.  

For more information please visit the conference website: http://www.microbicides2012.org/.

Do you want to submit an Abstract to the Conference?
The 2012 International Microbicides Conference (M2012) invites papers of high quality in the areas of HIV prevention, with a particular focus on microbicides, oral chemoprophylaxis, and their interface with other prevention strategies. The conference is interdisciplinary, and encourages the full involvement of communities and individuals affected by HIV. Abstract submissions will be reviewed by the Scientific Program Committee for content, presentation, timeliness, and current interest of the topic to M2012 participants. Abstracts are welcomed from researchers, program implementers, policy makers, advocates, and community members, and will be considered for inclusion provided they meet the guidelines below.

Please click here to view the abstract submission guidelines. See below to upload your submission.

DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
Authors should submit abstracts no later than 5pm AEST time on Thursday 17 November 2011.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION
Abstracts should be submitted via the online submission form. You should first log into your account on the M2012 Delegate Portal to submit an abstract. The delegate portal will be available this week.

If you are a new user please click the 'CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT LINK' at the bottom of the log in page.
If you previously created an account, but forgot your user ID and / or password, please select the link 'FORGOT PASSWORD' on the log in page.

Applicants should complete name, address and other details on the online form, and then upload the abstract as a WORD document. You can exit at any time and log back in to edit your submission prior to the deadline. Please carefully review the abstract prior to its submission. Please do not enter multiple submissions of the same abstract with incremental changes.
Step-by-step instructions are incorporated into the online abstract submission form; however, if you require assistance, or have any questions or concerns about the abstract program or submission process, please contact us. Please send an e-mail to the conference organisers at info@microbicides2012.org

Please click here to upload your abtsract through the delegate portal.

NOTIFICATION AND CORRESPONDENCE
Upon submission of your abstract via the online form, you will receive an acknowledgement within approximately 5 working days at the e-mail address you provide. Please retain this information for your records as verification of receipt. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within approximately 5 working days after submission of your abstract, please contact us. Please send an e-mail to the conference organisers at info@microbicides2012.org
Abstract dispositions will be e-mailed to the submitter of the abstract after 16 January 2012.  It is the responsibility of the primary author to inform co-authors about an abstract's disposition.

[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position.]