HC3 is Off to ICASA 2013

HC3 is headed to the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) to continue its advocacy for the inclusion of social and behavior change communication in HIV interventions.

HC3 will participate in a panel called “Who is ‘The Other’? Prevention Programmes for Specific Groups,” and will discuss its recent experience examining the evidence that demonstrates the positive role of SBCC in preventing and treating HIV. The panel takes place Monday, December 9 at 10:45 am in Meeting Room 6.

After reviewing the evidence, HC3 convened a high-level expert consultation in July 2013 that brought together social and behavioral researchers as well as biomedical experts to review the evidence and develop recommendations to the field on how best to design, measure and document the outcomes of social and behavioral interventions.

Through the expert consultation, consensus was built around the impact of health communication across a range of HIV outcomes. Gaps were identified and guidance developed on the often-overlooked areas where communication enables critical pathways toward HIV preventive behaviors. This guidance focuses on how best to ensure a balanced prevention portfolio and provides recommendations for better measuring the outcomes of behavioral interventions. A journal supplement related to the consultation’s findings will be developed in advance of AIDS 2014 next July.

HC3 will also sponsor a satellite session at ICASA on voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) on Sunday December 8 at 6:30 pm in Room 840, Ballroom West. This session will examine the current state of VMMC for HIV prevention as a high-impact intervention for adolescents. The panel will include case studies from Zimbabwe and Tanzania among others. Moderated by Susan Kasedde of UNICEF, the panel also includes Kumbirai Chatora from PSI Zimbabwe, Augustino Hellar from MCHIP/Tanzania and Richard Delate from the Johns Hopkins Health and Education South Africa.

And please stop by our Exhibit Booth at Stand 34 to say hello and learn more about HC3.