One of the highlights of ICAP-supported activities at IAS 2011 was a pre-conference meeting on HIV and Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). The meeting was sponsored by ICAP in collaboration with the International AIDS Society, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis (ANRS), the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and the NCD Alliance.
A central focus of the meeting was fostering interdisciplinary partnerships between HIV experts, NCD experts, policy makers, health economists, and health systems experts–an objective that has been underscored as a critical step to addressing the emerging importance of NCDs and the continuing challenge of the HIV epidemic. Additionally, conference participants sought practical lessons to leverage HIV scale-up to address the prevention and management of NCDs such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and mental health. Conversely, research findings on metabolic disorders and emerging risk for NCDs amongst individuals with HIV were also reviewed and strategies discussed to address these through HIV programming.
Other presentations included one by El-Sadr at a special session at the IAS Conference. In a presentation entitled “From Evidence to Action: Challenges and Opportunities” she placed the groundbreaking trial results from the HPTN 052 study into perspective by discussing how to incorporate these findings into programs. The trial demonstrated that starting ART in HIV-infected individuals substantially protected their HIV-uninfected sexual partners from acquiring HIV infection.
ICAP Senior Research Director Elaine Abrams moderated a panel that addressed the current and future pipeline of pediatric formulations, such as fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) in a satellite session presentation, “Challenges in the Development and Procurement of Pediatric ARV Formulations.”
Other presentations by ICAP supported work included strengthening of health systems for chronic care and noncommunicable diseases in Ethiopia; the role of primary health facilities in expanding pediatric care and treatment services in sub-Saharan Africa; and risk factors for loss to follow-up prior to ART initiation among HIV patients.
