Inaugural African Women & HIV conference Nairobi, Kenya

Angelina was part of the Organising Committee of/and attended the conference together with 4MNet East Africa members Michelle and Mary. Together with Bakita Kasadha, they facilitated a Skills-Building workshop on Engaging women living with HIV in research. She shares key take-aways from the conference.

1. The workshop was well attended by a diverse audience (over 300 participants), who were extremely engaged throughout. There is already excitement about the 2025 workshop. 
2. Adolescents are facing major challenges during the transition to adult services. These negative experiences are resulting in disengagement from care or treatment holidays for some. It’s hardly surprising therefore that over 60% of new HIV infections are in adolescents and young adults. We really want to dedicate more time addressing the challenges that adolescents and young adults face at future workshops. 
3. At the other end of the life course – ageing. The symptoms and stigma that women are facing during menopause must be explored in more detail and interventions to overcome/address them, put into place. 
4. The high rates of undiagnosed comorbidities in older women living with HIV and the limited treatment options is clearly another area that needs focus. 
5. Gender-based violence is a real challenge in Africa. There were 20,000 gender-related killings in Africa in 2022 alone! This is clearly something we need to unpack in greater detail next workshop. It’s clear that when we improve the journey for women, it is beneficial for wider society. 

Presentations from the conference are available on the Academic Medical Education’s website.