Sub-Saharan Africa may be home to only 10 percent of the world’s population, but it accounts for more than 60 percent of the world’s HIV/AIDS epidemic. Despite international support to eliminate the disease, 22 million adults and children living in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HIV/AIDS.
Students for Global Health in association with the African Studies Program will host the University’s first AIDS conference Friday and Saturday in association with the spring 2009 national conference for FACE AIDS, a student organization that fights HIV/AIDS in Africa and exists on 150 campuses nationwide.
“When we talk about AIDS, it is easy to fall into despair, doom and gloom. So by bringing in a variety of speakers with knowledge on the topic, students will hopefully see that there are patchworks of light in the darkness,” said Dennis Galvan, international studies and political science professor and conference advisor.
The conference, titled Integrating Biomedical and Sociocultural Approaches to HIV/AIDS in Africa, will include a full schedule of panel discussions, lectures, workshops and tables for not-for-profit organizations looking to share their experiences addressing the AIDS epidemic.
The concept for the event was born out of a Zimbabwean proverb, “You can’t crush a louse with only one thumb.” The two-day event will focus students, staff and community members on the importance of not only using international biomedical support in sub-Saharan Africa to combat AIDS, but also combining those efforts with a sociocultural approach to lower the instances of the disease.
“My hope is that the conference organizers push forward the challenge of greater collaboration between medical and social scientists in an effort to understand and mitigate the effects of AIDS,” keynote speaker and Harvard University lecturer Pauline Peters said. “I look forward to hearing about how others are working together to combat the HIV epidemic.”
Students across the country will have the opportunity to participate in discussion sessions pertaining to gender roles and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa as part of the conference to discuss socioeconomic factors that lead to AIDS, and establish how students can use their motivation to work within the sociocultural system to fight the disease.
“Student Experiences with Direct Action for Global Health,” a section of the conference, will allow students to hear from a panel chaired by Michele Fujii, a University graduate who developed a youth soccer empowerment camp focused on HIV prevention. Other University students including Alex Goodell, director of University FACE AIDS, and Daniel Bachhuber, director of Oregon Direct Action, will also speak in the section.
“The message I hope University of Oregon students walk away with is that no matter what your major is, there is some way to incorporate global health and social justice into your career,” Goodell said. “When a doctor goes to Africa and asks how he can help, he can’t do anything unless he has an architect to build the clinic, an engineer to get clean water and an advertiser to share the message.”
The conference will not only include a keynote speaker, discussion panels and guest lecturers, but also entertainment sessions in an effort to attract more students to the event.
“HIV defines our generation as the thing we have to end,” Goodell said. “I am hoping that students will be moved to make a difference.”
Robin Truesdale, a documentary filmmaker from Boulder, Colo. will present the world premiere of his documentary Tumbuka. The film follows the quest of a young Zimbabwean man who tries to help his community overcome poverty, AIDS and traditional gender roles by creating a club that teaches young men to respect their female counterparts.
Friday’s lectures will conclude with a concert featuring African musical talents Vakasara, Dance Africa, Hokoyo Marimba and headliner Boka Marimba. Proceeds from the concert will go to Tariro, an Oregon-based not-for-profit organization that funds education for women affected by AIDS in Zimbabwe.
[email protected]