HIV Implementers Meetings in Uganda

I recently presented an abstract, Kicking up Male Interest in VCT via Community-led HIV/AIDS Activities in Rural Botswana, at the HIV Implementers Meeting in Kampala, Uganda. The purpose of the conference was to exchange best practices and research from PEPFAR-supported countries in Africa and other heavily impacted regions. I attended last year’s conference in Kigali, Rwanda, but this was my first opportunity to present at such a forum.

Although the theme of the conference was Scaling-Up Through Partnerships, the main message might as well been “nothing is working in the area of HIV prevention.” Many commentators and researchers noted that HIV testing and abstinence campaigns have not yielded a decrease in HIV incidence in Africa. While these approaches are important and needed in certain respects, however, there is consensus that much more resources and attention needs to be focused on adult male circumcision, breaking up concurrent sexual relationships (e.g., “secret lovers” or “small houses), and to a lesser extent, supporting consistent condom use.

Though I don’t close my service until the end of June, presenting on Zebras4Life—Test4Life was a great way to conclude my unique, non-traditional work as a Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana. While my presentation was well received, there were some expected points of contention, mostly with the need to promote voluntary counseling and testing at all.

I still believe that VCT is important and that our approach helping. For starters, men in Botswana have a higher incidence of TB, commonly an HIV co-infection. Fewer men, proportionally to those infected, are not on treatment. Not to mention that having men test for HIV on their own terms has implications for reducing gender-based violence. Moreover, I think that having on-going, supportive counseling by trained counselors and trained peers, the future the Zebras project, can effectively support behavior change. Perhaps most significantly, however, VCT may become a gateway to male circumcision services. So it’s important for VCT to be male-friendly, which is the purpose of Zebras4Life—Test4Life.

Pic: Me presenting at the conference. I just had to wear the national team colors.