From July 22-27, people from around the world will converge on Washington, DC for the 2012 International AIDS Conference. The conference will return to the U.S. for the first time in more than 20 years. It’s fitting that the conference is taking place in the District, which is grappling with our own HIV battle. The conference will be an opportunity for people in the U.S. and countries around the world to learn from one another and recommit to the fight for an AIDS-free generation.

Working on HIV/AIDS programs around the world, I have seen how the global AIDS response, including PEPFAR is pleased to join with the US Agency for International Development to host a satellite session on “What Africa Teaches Us: PEPFAR’s Transformation of the U.S. Domestic HIV Response.” The satellite will be co-chaired by John Donnelly, Correspondent with GlobalPost and Paul Mahanna, Deputy Director from USAID’s Office of HIV/AIDS.

During the session, John, Paul and I will be joined by PEPFAR-engaged leaders from the U.S. domestic HIV response with experience in local and federal government, academia, community-based service provision, national strategic planning, metrics and data use, clinical services, and advocacy:

• Lisa Fitzpatrick Associate Professor of Medicine and Infectious Disease Specialist, Howard University
• Annie LaTour Schwartz* Senior M&E Advisor, Global Health Bureau, USAID*Former M&E Advisor, DC Department of Health, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, & TB Administration
• A. Toni Young Executive Director, Community Education Group
• Jeff Crowley Former Director, White House Office of National AIDS Policy
• Jonathan Mermin Director, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

These U.S. experts will share insights on how their experiences with PEPFAR overseas transformed their approaches, strategies, and program priorities for addressing HIV in the United States. This has resulted in changes to policy, services, data use, and decisionmaking.

Turning the tide together requires maximizing the insights and solutions across both high and low-resource settings. Panel and audience discussions will broaden our perspectives for the future.

Open to conference participants, the session will take place on Thursday, July 26 from 7:00am – 8:30am in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Mini Room 2.