CAHR 2022 – Transition to a Virtual format
The CAHR Board of Directors, together with the co-chairs of the 31st Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research (CAHR 2022), made the difficult but appropriate decision in January 2022 to transition the meeting to a virtual format. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant had shown once again that the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic was not over, and that planning for an in-person Conference in the coming months was fraught with too much uncertainty and risk.
CAHR 2022 Virtual
CAHR 2022 will take place from Wednesday, April 27 to Friday, April 29, 2022. Virtual conference participants at CAHR 2022 will enjoy all the activities that make the CAHR Conference an engaging learning experience including plenary sessions; special sessions on a wide variety of topics; oral abstracts and poster viewings; and opportunities to converse and network with colleagues and friends. The agenda and format are under development, and the CAHR website will be updated regularly as additional information becomes available.
Conference Theme – Striving Towards Equity and Flourishing in the HIV Response
SARS-CoV-2 disrupted global advances in HIV testing, anti-retroviral therapy, and combination prevention access and uptake that have taken place over the past decades. These advances, led by community responses and HIV clinical, biomedical, social, and implementation scientists, resulted in 27.5 million people accessing ART in 2020 and a 50% reduction in new HIV infections since 1997. During the mid 2000s, we cut through the red tape presented by patent protections, TRIPs, and the arrogance of Western medicine to demonstrate that access to low-cost medication, training, equitable and compassionate care could benefit all global populations, including socially, legally, and economically marginalized communities. The 30-year fight to get ART to those who need it most should have been a lesson for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, yet only 3.5% of low-income countries are vaccinated compared to 75% in high-income countries. The urgent work to address social and health disparities—including in HIV—within Canada and globally is far from over. Both HIV and COVID-19 demand responses grounded in equity, social determinants of health, and human rights. The convergence of intersecting stigma and discrimination—including racism, sexual and gender-based violence, poverty, and criminalization, produce barriers for HIV prevention and care access among impacted communities, including African, Caribbean and Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ2S peoples, as well as sex workers, people who use drugs, and those at the intersection of these identities and experiences. Flourishing—pursuit of individual and collective visions for the future, leading a ‘good life’, and realizing one’s potential—is intricately linked with health and rights and is key to realizing the ‘fourth 90’ of wellbeing and quality of life among people living with HIV. Striving for equity and flourishing in the HIV response calls for synergies between community priorities and transdisciplinary HIV research, enabling social and structural environments to increase access to and uptake of clinical and biomedical advances, and rights-based approaches.
CAHR 2022 Sponsors
The Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR) gratefully acknowledges the companies and organizations which contribute to the Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research. These generous donations make it possible for CAHR to hold the annual conference.
For information on the sponsorship and exhibit opportunities available, please contact Erin Love at the CAHR Office by email at erin.love@cahr-acrv.ca
Thank you to the following sponsors for supporting the 31st Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research (CAHR 2022).
Platinum
Contributors
