Fourth Annual Conference on Health and Human Rights

 

HIV / AIDS IN AFRICA:

Taking Action

 

Friday, January 25, 2002

8:30 a.m. –  5:00 p.m.

 

Houston Hall at the University of Pennsylvania

Bodek Lounge

3417 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104

 

Sponsored by

 

Global Lawyers and Physicians (glp@bu.edu)

Ethics and Human Rights Program, Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center  (Evelyn.Shuster@med.va.gov)

African Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania (Africa@sas.upenn.edu)

Physicians for Human Rights (phrusa@phr.org)

Penn Center for AIDS Research, University of Pennsylvania (aidsres@mail.med.upenn.edu)

Global AIDS Alliance (pzeitz@earthlink.net)

Health Gap Coalition and Critical Path AIDS Project (healthgap@critpath.org)

Middle East Center, University of Pennsylvania (info@mec.sas.upenn.edu)

 

 

HIV/AIDS has become one of the most formidable public health, human rights and health challenges of modern times. The AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa has overwhelmed the region and it urgently requires a concerted global effort and private/public cooperation to efficiently implement prevention and treatment strategies. 

This symposium seeks to provide answers to these challenges.  The morning session explores the meaning of the “international right to health” and its usefulness as a tool for making AIDS prevention and treatment available in Africa. Experts will give examples of concrete and workable strategies that can make a difference in the lives of African citizens. The afternoon session focuses on existing barriers to implementation, and explores possible actions to overcome them. The symposium culminates in the development of a “Philadelphia Declaration” in Defense of Health and Human Rights and the Dignity of People living with HIV/AIDS in Africa. Conference participants will join a panel of experts to discuss the provisions that should be included in the “Declaration.”

 

7:00 – 8:30                   Registration

 

8:30                            Welcome and Opening Remarks

                                    Lee Cassanelli

 

MORNING SESSION:  WORKABLE STRATEGIES

Chair: Paul J. Kaiser

 

8:30 – 9:00                   Conference Overview: Putting the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Context

                                    Evelyne Shuster

 

9:00 – 9:30                   The International Right to Health: Useful or Useless in the AIDS Epidemic in Africa?

George J. Annas
 
9:30 – 10:00                 Reflections on Successful Ways to Address the HIV/AIDS Crisis: The Case of Tanzania

                                    Theresa J. Kaijage

 

10:00 – 10:30               Audience Participation

 

10:30 – 11:00               Break

 

11:00 – 11:30               Private/Public Partnership:

Global AIDS and the Health Fund

Paul Zeitz

 

11:30 – 12:00               Global AIDS Action: The Role of American Residents

Julie Davids

 

12:00 – 12:30               Audience Participation

 

12:30 –  2:00                Lunch

 

 

AFTERNOON SESSION:  BARRIERS TO ACTION

Chair: Evelyne Shuster

 

2:00 – 2:20                   Grassroots Movements In Africa: AIDS Prevention and Treatment

                                    Rosemarie Kadende-Kaiser

 

2:20 – 2:40                   African-American Grassroots Movements and HIV/AIDS in Africa: Issues and Challenges in Building Solidarity with Africans

                                                Alex Otieno

 

2:40 – 3:00                   The Role of Health Professionals in the AIDS Campaign

Leonard Rubenstein

 

3:00 – 3:30                   Audience Participation

 

3:30 – 3:45                   Break

 

3:45 – 5:00                   Round Table: Developing an Action Plan -

The “Philadelphia Declaration”

Chair: George J. Annas

                                    Panelists: Julie Davids, Aranthan S. Jones, Rosemarie Kadende-Kaiser, Theresa J. Kaijage, Alex Otieno, Leonard Rubenstein, Evelyne Shuster, Paul Zeitz.

 

5:00                             Adjournment

 

 

The Conference should be attended by health care and public health professionals, scientists, policy makers, attorneys, legislators, ethicist-philosophers, journalists, health and human rights advocates, AIDS activists, students in science, medicine and public health, and concerned citizens.

 

There is no fee for attending the conference, but a voluntary contribution of $40 would be greatly appreciated. Advance registration is encouraged.

 

 

 Registration Form

 

Last Name                               First Name                               Middle Initial

 

Title

 

E-mail address                                      Affiliation

 

Address (No. and Street or Box No.)

 

City                                                      State                            Zip Code

 

Phone                                                   Fax

 

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Mail registration and a voluntary contribution to:

Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Ethics Program

ATTN: Evelyne Shuster

Veterans Affairs Medical Center

University and Woodland Avenues, Philadelphia, PA 19104

 

For questions, or for late registration, call Evelyne Shuster at (215)-823-4206

 

Speakers

 

George J. Annas, JD, MPH  Professor and Chair, Health Law Department, Boston University School of Public Health, and Co-Founder, Global Lawyers and Physicians

 

Lee Cassanelli, PhD  Director, African Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania

 

Julie Davids Director, Critical Path AIDS Project, Member of Health Gap and ACT UP, Philadelphia

 

Aranthan S. Jones II  Program Specialist at the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Fogarty International Center (FIC), Washington, DC

 

Rosemarie Kadende-Kaiser, PhD  Research Fellow at the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict, and Instructor for the Women’s Studies Program, University of Pennsylvania

 

Theresa J. Kaijage  Founder of WAMATA (Walio Katika Mapambano Na AIDS Tanzania), an HIV/AIDS support group in Tanzania

 

Paul J. Kaiser, PhD Associate Director, African Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania

 

Alex Otieno, MPH  Adjunct Professor of Sociology, Arcadia University, and Community Liaison, Outreach Coordination Center, Project H.O.M.E., Philadelphia

 

Leonard Rubenstein, JD Executive Director, Physicians For Human Rights, Washington, DC

 

Evelyne Shuster, PhD Conference Director, Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Adjunct Associate Professor of Philosophy in Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania

 

Paul Zeitz, MD Co-Founder and Director of Global AIDS Alliance, Philadelphia