ICRW Social and Behavioral Scientist Jennifer McCleary-Sills on July 24 will participate in a panel discussion on how to strengthen the capacity of organizations to understand and address gender issues, HIV and AIDS in their communities.
The event is part of the International AIDS Conference this week in Washington, D.C., and will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in mini room 8 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center downtown.
McCleary-Sills will discuss approaches ICRW used to guide two Tanzanian groups on how to engage with and mobilize communities to understand and address teenage girls’ vulnerability to HIV. Her presentation will draw from ICRW’s experience designing and evaluating the pilot project, "Vitu Newala,” which took place from 2010 to 2011 in a remote Tanzanian district. The effort was funded by the Positive Action program at ViiV Healthcare, a pharmaceutical company that focuses solely on HIV.
The following day, McCleary-Sills will participate in a discussion in the Positive Action Networking Zone of the Global Village on how to involve adolescents in HIV prevention programs, and explain why programs targeting girls must also involve boys. That event is scheduled for 11 a.m. on July 25.