2ND NATIONAL HIV/AIDS RESEARCH CONFERENCE (NHARCON)
3-5 March 2008, La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, ACCRA.

THEME:  “Sustaining a Comprehensive National Response to HIV”

PRESS BRIEF

In line with its mandate for strengthening coordination, dissemination and utilisation of research results for HIV response, the Ghana AIDS Commission in collaboration with it’s partners, organised the 1st National HIV/AIDS Research Conference from 11-14 February 2004 under the theme  “HIV/AIDS Research: A Challenge for improved national response”. The objectives of the three-day conference were to:
 Provide a forum for researchers, policy makers, opinion leaders and implementers of policies to share results and experiences;
 Allow researchers to consider the implications of current research results for policy and programming;
 Identify research gaps and propose future activities; and
 Initiate a process of developing research priorities.
A total of 650 participants from all over Ghana and several international observers participated in the conference. 

Key Highlights of NHARCON 2004

Treatment and Care
The conference outcomes show that there was an increasing caseload of AIDS in health facilities, and increased mortality were also noted in patients who were severely immuno-compromised. Increased mortality was noted in patients with TB and associated TB morbidity often complicated management and outcome. While most common side effects of Anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) were found to be self limiting and did not require drug change, drug toxicities were detected and managed at the district level.

To address these issues, the conference recommended that early detection of HIV infection through voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) should be vigorously pursued to improve survival rate and that rapid roll-out of the Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) Plan should be given utmost attention to increase access to ART for persons living with HIV. Public-private partnership was identified as an essential tool for facilitating capacity enhancement at various levels and improves access to ART services. Moreover, testing for HIV drug resistance should be incorporated into the national care and support programme.

Prevention and Behaviour Change
Data from Behavior Surveillance Surveys and the Demographic and Health Survey provided background information to understand the link between HIV infection and risky behaviors associated with the epidemic. Though Knowledge about HIV was high, some high risk behaviors were still evident. Reducing high risk sexual behaviors was found to be the most important strategy for controlling the epidemic and this should be done in the context of other prevention, care, treatment and support programs. Targeted behavior change programs to reach populations most-at-risk and stigma reduction were recommended as important approaches to reduce HIV infections significantly in the country.

Policy Issues
The conference noted that the Government of Ghana had identified HIV and AIDS as a top priority in its development strategy and that government recognized that the conference would strengthen the building blocks of the national HIV response as it provided a strong basis for evidence-based response. In the light of the overwhelming evidence of major gaps in the national response, the experts pointed out that the successful role-out of a comprehensive HIV and AIDS programme required high political and resource commitment. In addition, high quality data was necessary to shape policy and programmatic strategies to address the evolving epidemic.  

Gender and HIV
The conference emphasized the need to examine the social construction of gender relations and their implications for social interactions between the sexes to better understand masculinity and femininity among various ethnic groups in the country.

Research Issues
The experts recognized the fact that ethical standards in HIV research in Ghana were extremely poor and needed significant improvement. They indicated that ethical standards must go beyond mere informed consent to include respect for the rights of study subjects and all aspects of ethical practice. They further suggested that serious attention should be paid to effective tracking of the evolution of the epidemic in the country to enable adoption of suitable strategies for combating it. According to the experts, this should include investigation into the synergy among individuals, community and societal stigmatization and discrimination to understand socio-cultural issues in various parts of the country.

2ND NHARCON (2008)
The outcomes of the 1st NHARCON led to significant improvement and expansion of the national HIV and AIDS response. Since 2004, driving the prevalence level further down has remained the major pre-occupation of the Ghana AIDS Commission and stakeholders. In view of this, the National HIV and AIDS Strategic Framework 2006-2010 was created to catalyse an expanded national HIV response with a particular focus on accelerated prevention, comprehensive treatment, care and support services and mitigation of the impacts of AIDS on the infected and the affected individuals and families. 

In the expanded national response, prevention of new HIV infection has been vigorously pursued through the provision of comprehensive services including promotion of safer sex practices, provision of safe blood and blood products, prevention of mother-to-child-transmission (PMTCT), control and management of STIs and the provision of voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) services in both public and private sector facilities. Currently, VCT services are being provided at 311 sites while 300 sites are providing PMTCT services across the country. An average of 40 million condoms have been distributed annually over the last three years while various preventive services are being given to high-risk groups such as commercial sex workers, prisoners, personnel of uniformed services, youth and long distance truck drivers. A comprehensive Integrated Behaviour Change Communication and IEC Strategy has been produced to stimulate targeted behaviour change communication and IEC programmes.

Treatment, care and support programmes are being scaled up progressively. Highly Active Anti-retroviral Therapy (HAART) has been expanded from the initial two pilot sites to 46 sites including all ten regional hospitals and some mission and private health facilities. This service has benefited nearly 8000 persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) including children. The 46 treatment centres collectively will treat 15,000 AIDS patients by the end of 2007.

Additionally, the expanded national response to HIV and AIDS has benefited considerably from continued favourable policy environment facilitated by supportive policies and guidelines, strong advocacy and resource mobilization. Much of this has been achieved through strong political support; the establishment and use of decentralized institutional structures for implementation, coordination and management; and widespread civil society participation.
Sustaining further expansion of these interventions, consolidating the gains made so far and achieving key performance indicators and periodic targets in line with defined goals and objectives are the challenges that stakeholders should collectively address. The NHARCON 2008 will bring together researchers, programme managers, policy makers and other stakeholders to share scientific evidence, lessons learnt and best practices with a view to addressing these challenges. It will also be an opportunity for reviewing our collective actions and set agenda for the future. NHARCON 2008 will also provide a platform for international participants to share knowledge and experiences with their Ghanaian counterparts to enhance learning.  

OBJECTIVES
The main objectives of the Conference are to;
 Highlight key successes and challenges as well as the potential ways to overcome them;
 Take stock of scientific evidence, lessons learnt and best practices to guide a productive dialogue towards key policy initiatives to enhance the quality of the comprehensive national response to HIV and AIDS;
 Promote high standards in research practice and ethics to strengthen the foundations of the evidence-based approach to the national HIV response. 

FOCUS OF THE CONFERENCE
The conference will cover four main sub-themes namely:
1. HIV prevention
2. Women and other vulnerable groups
3. Treatment, care and support
4. Law and ethics 

TRACKS
The conference will have four main tracks namely:
A. Social Sciences
B. Epidemiology and Basic Science
C. Clinical Practice
D. Interventions and Best Practices

Based on these tracts, the Scientific Committee has developed various types of sessions that suite variety of presentations and meet the needs of participants. Details of the tracks, abstract submission information, registration and conference programme can be accessed online at www.ghanaids.gov.gh

Conference Programme
The conference methodology includes plenary, symposia, abstract driven, poster viewing and children and youth sessions. Seasoned international experts will deliver presentations on current scientific and best practice information at both plenary and symposia. There will be two plenary sessions daily interspersed with breakout sessions which will look at cutting edge research results as well as programme and policy interventions and best practices.

Speakers
Conference speakers have been carefully selected based on expertise and professional profile. Speakers are seasoned international experts with up-to-date knowledge in their fields of endeavour. The speakers are from the academia, the WHO, and community of practice and from countries such as the USA, Canada, Switzerland, South Africa and Ghana.    

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