22nd International AIDS Conference
Amsterdam, Netherlands | 23-27 July 2018

Rapporteur summaries

Rapporteurs are charged with the important task of objectively recording the proceedings and groundbreaking presentations at AIDS 2018. Throughout the conference, an international team of rapporteurs will report on key conference highlights across all tracks, community activities, and the Global Village and Youth Programme. All summaries will be published on this page during the course of the week. A rapporteur session will be held immediately before the closing session on Friday, 27 July 2018. This session synthesizes the presentations made during the week, focusing on critical issues addressed, important results presented and key recommendations put forward.

Rapporteur teams

Track A Rapporteurs

Lead: Lydie Trautmann, United States | Bio



Dr. Trautmann is Chief of the Cellular Immunology Section at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the U.S. Military HIV Research Program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. She received her M.Sc. and Engineer degrees in Biotechnology in Strasbourg, and her Ph.D. in Immunology at Paris V University. She performed her postdoctoral training at University of Montreal where she studied the molecular and functional mechanisms of HIV-specific CD8 T cell dysfunction in primary and chronic HIV infection. She was appointed Assistant then Associate Member at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute of Florida until 2015, when she joined the U.S. MHRP. As a trained human immunologist, she studies the cellular immune response in acute HIV infection, HIV remission and HIV vaccine trials. The overarching goal of her research is to develop innovative therapeutic strategies aimed at enhancing the cellular immunity to control HIV dissemination and viral replication.

Afam Okoye, United States | Bio



Afam Okoye, Ph.D., is a Research Assistant Professor at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute at Oregon Health & Science University. He is also an Affiliate Scientist at the Oregon National Primate Research Center. He is an immunologist with extensive experience in the investigation of nonhuman primate models of HIV/SIV pathogenesis and immunity. His current research includes developing models of optimal antiretroviral therapy (ART) suppression in SIV-infected rhesus macaques and the application of these models to understand how HIV/SIV persists during ART and to develop therapeutic approaches aimed at achieving durable remission from virus replication after ART withdrawal.

Jori Symons, Australia | Bio



Dr Jori Symons is a postdoctoral Early Research Career Fellow in Professor Sharon Lewin’s and Associate Professor Paul Cameron’s laboratory at the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia. Jori was trained as a PhD in HIV pathogenesis. He obtained his PhD from Utrecht University in the Netherlands at the University Medical Centre Utrecht in 2014. In 2015, Jori joined the Lewin/Cameron laboratory to investigate the HIV reservoir. Jori’s research focusses on the maintenance of the viral reservoir and tackling the viral reservoir by delivering latency reversal agents and block and lock strategies with CD4 specific nanoparticles.

Julie Mitchell, United States | Bio



Julie Mitchell is a postdoctoral fellow with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation in the laboratory of Dr. Lydie Trautmann at the U.S. Military HIV Research Program in the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring, Maryland. She received her Ph.D. in Immunology at the University of Kansas Medical Center and her Masters in Public Health at the George Washington University. Dr. Mitchell’s research focuses on identifying ways to enhance the immune response to HIV as part of remission strategies. She also studies the infant immune response to HIV in order to adapt therapeutic strategies for use in children.

Tokameh Mahmoudi, Netherlands | Bio



Tokameh Mahmoudi is Associate Professor of Molecular Virology at Erasmus MC, The Netherlands. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley followed by a Master’s degree at University of Toronto, Canada and PhD at Leiden University, The Netherlands. During her post-doctoral training at The Hubrecht Institute and UCSF (GIVI), she studied the molecular mechanisms controlling Wnt signal driven tumorigenesis and those controlling expression of the HIV genome. Currently the focus of Dr. Mahmoudi's research is to delineate the molecular events that mediate HIV transcriptional latency and HBV–mediated hepatocellular carcinoma with emphasis on identifying clinically relevant molecular targets for therapy.

Track B Rapporteurs

Lead: Graeme Meintjes, South Africa | Bio



Graeme Meintjes is a Professor of Medicine and SARChI Chair of Poverty-related Infections at the University of Cape Town. He is an Infectious Diseases physician who undertakes consultant clinical work at Khayelitsha and Groote Schuur Hospitals. His research focuses on the clinical conditions affecting patients with advanced HIV disease including disseminated HIV-associated tuberculosis, the tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS) and cryptococcal meningitis. He has contributed to the development of management guidelines for HIV, TB and cryptococcal meningitis at a provincial and national level and in World Health Organization Guideline Development Groups.

Casper Rokx, Netherlands | Bio



Dr. Casper Rokx works at the Erasmus University Medical Center (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) as fellow internist-infectious diseases specialist and post-doctoral researcher on HIV treatment and cure. He gained his PhD in 2016 with over 30 publications and multiple young-investigator awards. Previously, he worked in Zambia, and in 2018 as post-doctoral clinical fellow under dr. Anton Pozniak at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital (London, UK). He leads various clinical and translational studies on HIV cure, and participates in the Erasmus MC HIV Eradication Group (EHEG), European HIV Vaccine Alliance and as scientific committee member of EACS’ Young Investigator Conferences.

Margherita Bracchi, United Kingdom | Bio



Dr Margherita Bracchi specialised in Infectious Diseases at the University of Turin (Italy) in July 2013. Between 2013 and 2016 she worked as Clinical Trial Sub-investigator at St Stephen’s AIDS Trust, running numerous clinical trials in the field of HIV. She was appointed Consultant in HIV/Infectious Diseases at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in 2017, where she is now responsible for in- and out- patients with HIV/AIDS. She is currently the EACS ART panel Young Investigator and member of the TB/BHIVA guidelines committee. Her works focus on tuberculosis, opportunistic infections and pharmacokinetics of antiretrovirals.

Mosepele Mosepele , Botswana | Bio



Dr Mosepele Mosepele is an Infectious Disease Physician and Chair (Head), Department of Internal Medicine, University of Botswana & a Research Associate at Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership. He is actively involved in clinical HIV care, and research with major emphasis on HIV complications including end-organ dysfunction (NCDs) in resource limited setting.

Saskia Janssen, Netherlands | Bio



Saskia Janssen is a PhD and medical doctor specializing in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam. In the context of her PhD project she worked in a primary HIV clinic in Gabon, Central Africa, in clinical care, and in HIV research including TB and helminth infections. Thereafter, she worked at the University of Cape Town on a clinical study on the prevention of early mortality in patients with severe HIV-associated tuberculosis, with specific interest in innate immunity and coagulation.

Sean Wasserman, South Africa | Bio



Dr Sean Wasserman is an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Cape Town. After briefly working as a consultant physician, he moved into full time clinical research in 2016 to undertake a PhD on linezolid for drug-resistant tuberculosis for which he was awarded an EDCTP Fellowship. Dr Wasserman is currently based at the Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa at UCT, where his main research interest is on the use of new and repurposed drugs for tuberculosis, with a focus on pharmacokinetics and resistance. Other areas of interest include HIV-associated pneumocystis pneumonia and antibiotic stewardship.

Track C Rapporteurs

Lead: Asa Radix, United States | Bio



Dr. Radix is the Senior Director of Research and Education at the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center and a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at New York University. Dr. Radix trained in internal medicine and infectious disease and obtained postgraduate degrees in epidemiology and public health. Dr. Radix has 20 years of experience providing HIV care, primary care and hormone therapy to transgender and gender non-binary people. Dr. Radix is Co-Chair of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care version 8 working group and a member of the HHS Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents.

Ayden Scheim, United States | Bio



Ayden Scheim, Ph.D. is a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellow in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego. He is also Research Manager at the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation, St. Michael’s Hospital (Toronto, Canada). Dr. Scheim is a social epidemiologist who conducts community-engaged research on the health and human rights of key populations in North America and globally, particularly transgender people and people who use drugs. He can be found online at www.aydenscheim.com.

Michael Marco, South Africa | Bio



Michael Marco is an HIV-positive MSM with >25 years of leadership experience in HIV health policy, advocacy, and program management. He presently works for Right to Care in Johannesburg, South Africa as Head of Scientific Program Planning. Michael’s been a member of HIV research, drug approval, and therapeutic guidelines committees for NIH, CDC, FDA, and WHO. During his tenure with Treatment Action Group, he was Director of Opportunistic Diseases. Michael later served as International Program Manager for the NIH-sponsored ACTG, and as a Program Manager for Columbia University’s PEPFAR grants. He earned his MPH and PhD in epidemiology from Columbia.

Pedro Carneiro, United States | Bio



Pedro Carneiro is the Director of Population Health at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center where he spearheads initiatives aiming at bridging the gap between social determinants of health and clinical outcomes. Pedro is also a doctoral candidate at CUNY School of Public Health in New York City, and in 2016 he was awarded the Joep Lange and Jacqueline van Tongeren Prize for young investigators by the International AIDS Society for his work on implementation research and PrEP.

Tonia Poteat, United States | Bio



Tonia Poteat is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, core faculty in the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health and Human Rights, and a Physician Assistant in the John G. Bartlett Specialty Practice at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her research, teaching, and clinical practice focus on HIV and LGBTQ health with particular attention to the role of stigma in driving health disparities. Certified as an HIV Specialist by the American Academy of HIV Medicine, she is a leader in HIV research and care with transgender persons.

Track D Rapporteurs

Lead: Emily Bass, United States | Bio



A writer and social justice activist with a strong dedication to LGBT and women’s health agendas, Emily Bass has spent more than twenty years working on HIV and AIDS in America and East and Southern Africa. She is Director of Strategy and Content for AVAC. Her work centers on powerful activist coalitions that use data to drive strategies for accountability and change on the part of PEPFAR, GFATM and governments. She has served as an expert advisor to WHO and is the author of numerous essays, peer-reviewed articles, and a forthcoming book about activism, aid and the fight to end HIV.

Felicita Hikuam, Namibia | Bio



Felicita Hikuam is the Deputy Director of the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA). Currently based in the office in Cape Town, South Africa, she provides technical and managerial guidance to ensure cohesion between ARASA’s goals and objectives and its programme design, implementation and evaluation. Felicita has worked at national and regional levels in sub-Saharan Africa and at the international level in HIV, human rights, health and development communication, policy and advocacy for the past 15 years. For two years, from 2010 to 2011, Felicita served as the African NGO delegate on the NGO delegation to the UNAIDS Coordinating Board.

Rob Newells, United States | Bio



Rob Newells has been an active community advocate since 1999 and currently serves as Executive Director for AIDS Project of the East Bay in Oakland, California. He studied communications at the University of Southern California and completed master’s level coursework at the Pacific School of Religion and Princeton Theological Seminary. Rob is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, a licensed Baptist minister serving on the staff of the Imani Community Church, and a contributing author to the book Struggling in Good Faith for which he penned the chapter on “The Black Church” exploring the relationship between faith and sexual stigma.

Sandra Hsu Hnin Mon, United States | Bio



Sandra Hsu Hnin Mon is a Senior Research Program Coordinator with the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. A citizen of Myanmar, Sandra is committed to researching the interplay of infectious diseases, human rights, and comparative politics in - though not limited to - Southeast Asia. At Johns Hopkins, she conducts HIV research for key populations in Myanmar and Thailand with IAS Immediate Past President Dr. Chris Beyrer. Sandra holds a MSPH in Global Disease Epidemiology and Control from Johns Hopkins, and a BA in Molecular Biology from Colgate University.

Yvette Raphael, South Africa | Bio



Yvette Alta Raphael is a consummate leader in the fight against HIV. As a woman who has been living with the virus for over 15 years, she has experienced first-hand what HIV stigma, insufficient prevention education, and reduced access to healthcare can do. She utilized her natural leadership abilities to co-found the Tshwaranang Care Center for People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA). Ms. Raphael has spoken around the globe including several International AIDS Conferences to advise researchers, advocates, and policy makers on how to best win the war against HIV and AIDS. Her passion has been to improve the health outcomes for young women and girls, but her trusted expertise has also been lent to developing policies at the work place and to create better, more efficient structures to utilize the available governmental resources to End AIDS. Furthermore, Ms. Raphael is a trusted globally renown advocate on effective and efficient education to the general community regarding new and developing research for medications that treat and/or prevent HIV.

Track E Rapporteurs

Lead: James Hargreaves, United Kingdom | Bio



I am a Professor of Epidemiology and Evaluation, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine ‘Centre for Evaluation’ and director of the international MeSH consortium ‘Measurement and Surveillance of HIV epidemics’. My areas of research focus include: (1) evaluation methodology – including impact and process evaluation design and mixed-methods research, (2) HIV prevention – with a focus on behavioural and structural interventions, and, (3) HIV epidemiology – with a focus on routine and programme data, social determinants and HIV epidemic dynamics among high-risk populations. My research includes analyses of individual and cluster randomised trials, cross-sectional and cohort studies, systematic reviews and qualitative, policy and participatory research.

Bernadette Hensen, United Kingdom | Bio



Bernadette is an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Her research to date has focused primarily on the evaluation of interventions to prevent HIV infection and to increase uptake of HIV testing services. She has supported trials of community-based distribution of HIV self-testing in Zambia, and currently works on the DREAMS impact evaluation team. Prior to working at LSHTM, Bernadette worked in Zambia supporting NGOs with the implementation of community-based HIV-related programming then completed a PhD exploring strategies to increase men’s uptake of HIV testing services at LSHTM.

Brian Rice, United Kingdom | Bio



Brian is an Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Deputy Director of the BMGF funded Measurement and Surveillance of HIV epidemics (MeSH) consortium. For the best part of the past twenty years, Brian has worked in the field of surveillance epidemiology, and has published on HIV related research conducted in the UK, Europe, and Southern Africa. Brian has a particular interest in HIV surveillance and measurement research and in maximising the strategic potential of data routinely collected through service delivery platforms.

Collin Mangenah, Zimbabwe | Bio



I am a health economist working for the Centre for Sexual Health, HIV and AIDS Research (CeSHHAR) Zimbabwe since 2012. I am responsible for leading a number of economic evaluation studies including cost analyses of HIV self-test kit distribution, facility HIV testing services, HIV prevention services for young high risk women (YWSS), cost-effectiveness analysis of community-based adherence and retention in care programmes, initiating and retaining women on oral PrEP and Technical efficiency analyses of PMTCT and VMMC services. I have just been accepted as a PhD candidate at LSTM and my research focus will be on economic evaluation methods for HIV programs in Southern Africa. I also hold an MSc degree in Strategic Management from Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) as well as a BA degree in Economics & Sociology from Africa University (AU).

Matthew Quaife, United Kingdom | Bio



Matthew Quaife is a Research Fellow in Health Economics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He uses demand-side and behavioural economics to understand and solve public health problems. His research incorporates the preferences and choices of people using HIV prevention, testing, and treatment into mathematical impact and cost-effectiveness models. An additional area of research explores incentives in the market for commercial sex, estimating how new HIV prevention products might change behaviours.

Mitzy Gafos, United Kingdom | Bio



Mitzy Gafos is the co-research director of STRIVE, an international research consortium funded by the UK government to tackle the structural drivers of HIV. STRIVE synthesises existing and generates new evidence on individual and interrelated structural drivers of HIV, pathways of risk and infection, effective measurement tools, and evaluation of structural interventions. The consortium focuses on the impact of HIV structural drivers on biomedical prevention, other development objectives, and the specific needs of adolescent girls (including transactional sex), particularly in relation to gender inequality, harmful norms and violence; limited livelihood options; alcohol availability and drinking norms; stigma and discrimination (http://strive.lshtm.ac.uk).

Nancy Padian, United States | Bio



Dr. Padian has led numerous initiatives dedicated to improving the health status of women and girls around the world by conducting research on HIV and AIDS, reproductive health, domestic violence, gender and economic inequities, and female-initiated methods of HIV prevention. Her current research focuses on implementation science and innovative health-system and community approaches to increase demand and supply for HIV-related health services and impact evaluations for large-scale HIV and AIDS programs. A professor at UC Berkeley, she is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Epidemiology Society and is a consultant for US government (PEPFAR, CDC, FDA and NIH).

Nanina Anderegg, Switzerland | Bio



Nanina Anderegg, a mathematician by training, is doing her PhD at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM) at the University of Bern (Switzerland). She is interested in the topic of HIV-positive patients on ART that are lost to follow-up and the impact of this on program-level estimates. In particular, she is interested in how program-level mortality estimates can be corrected for the unknown outcomes in patients LTFU and how systematic tracing of these patients can help informing estimates.

Parinita Bhattacharjee, Kenya | Bio



Parinita Bhattacharjee, has 22 years of experience in social development across multiple sectors like HIV & AIDS, Reproductive Health, Gender and Violence. She has spent the last 15 years in leadership roles in large scale Key Populations (KP) HIV Programmes funded by BMGF, USAID and CIDA in partnership with non-governmental organisations and community based organisations in India and Kenya. She is currently based in Nairobi since 6 years where she leads the BMGF funded technical support to The Government of Kenya to scale up key populations programming. She is also leading two evaluations, funded by UK Aid, addressing intimate partner violence and child marriage in India. She has a Masters Degree in Medical and Psychiatric Social Work from prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India.

Shona Dalal, Switzerland | Bio



Dr. Shona Dalal is an epidemiologist with the HIV Prevention unit at the World Health Organization where she leads work on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and prevention strategies to reach adolescent girls, young women and their male partners. Prior to joining WHO, Shona was the Strategic Information Branch Chief at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Uganda, where she was responsible for HIV/AIDS surveillance, monitoring and evaluation, and implementation science. Her work has included population-based surveys, trials longitudinal cohorts and implementation research in multiple countries. She is passionate about HIV, women’s health and young people.

Community and Leadership Rapporteurs

Lead: Raminta Stuikyte, Lithuania | Bio



Raminta Stuikyte has been working in promoting transformation of policies and strengthening civil society in the field of HIV, drug policy and access to medicines for the last 15 years. She advised Prof Michel Kazatchkine, Special Advisor to the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, works with Open Society Foundations, and regional HIV and drug policy networks and initiatives across Europe. She serves on the UNAIDS Reference Group on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights. In the last years, she focused on increased awareness and solutions for greater sustainability of HIV and TB responses and more effective donor transition.

Khatchig Ghosn, Lebanon | Bio



I studied social work at the Lebanese University and I am currently working as a coordinator at the Tayf community center in Beirut, which focuses on HIV prevention among YMSM and community building. This experience has taught me so many things related to safe sex, STIs, HIV and LGBTIQ+ rights. I am WYSE NGO's ambassador and I participated in their International Leadership programme in Italy where I developed my leadership skills. In the future, I hope that I can be more involved in advocating for PLHIV and supporting the ones who are facing stigma and discrimination.

Khuat Thi Hai Oanh, Vietnam | Bio



Khuat Thi Hai Oanh is a medical doctor with a Master Degree on SRH Research from LSHTM. She founded Center for Supporting Community Development Initiatives (SCDI) in 2010 and is its Executive Director. SCDI focuses on well-being of the most marginalized populations, including SW, PWUD, PLHIV, their children, LGBTIQA, undocumented and indigenous people through community empowerment, enabling environment, and impactful programs. Oanh chairs APCASO’s Council of Representative and GFAN Asia Pacific, and serves as Southern CSO alternate in UHC2030 Steering Committee. In 2017, she was listed among the 50 most influential Vietnamese women by Forbes Vietnam.

Melania Trejo, Netherlands | Bio



Melania Trejo is a Global Health Specialist and Social Justice advocate with over 15 years’ experience working with civil society, governments and international organizations. She has dedicated most of her professional life to fighting the AIDS epidemic. Currently, as an independent consultant, has undertaken assignments that focus on connecting local champions with global advocates, donors and decision-makers and providing ideas and solutions to challenges around transition from international aid to domestic financing for HIV/AIDS responses. Ms. Trejo was formerly Program Officer at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Prior to this role, worked at UNAIDS-Guatemala, UNDP-Kenya and different NGOs in her home country, México.

Nalwanga Resty, Uganda | Bio



I am Nalwanga Resty and passionate about sexual and reproductive health and rights mainly for young women living with HIV. I represent young women living with HIV at the National Validation Committee in Uganda which strengthens the programme management, resource mobilization and coordination, provision of integrated comprehensive e-MTCT. I am a Global Fund Advocate Network speaker and my role is to share the messages to fund the Global Fund and create policy changes for positive enabling environments and to increase domestic investments in health and to encourage collective engagement in the advocacy to governments and decision-makers. I am also a member on Adolescent Treatment Coalition which is a diverse community united in our advocacy to make quality treatment and care available for all adolescents living with HIV worldwide.

Peter Wiessner, Germany | Bio



Peter is a social scientist and HIV community activist. He has been working for 25 years with PLHIV and HIV service organizations, currently is working as a policy and communication officer for Action against AIDS Germany. He also volunteers for the EATG. He has published books and brochures on HIV related subjects for key populations, in particular for prisoners, mobile populations, and PUD. Peter is the co-author of the database of HIV related travel restrictions www.hivrestrictions.org on behalf of the German AIDS Federation. His main interest is political and human rights for key populations living with HIV.

Mauro Guarinieri, Switzerland | Bio



Mauro Guarinieri lives and works in Geneva, Switzerland. With a long history of drug use, living with HIV/AIDS since 1984, he’s been active in the AIDS movement since the late 90s, with a focus on harm-reduction, drug policy reform, access to treatment, intellectual property rights, and drug users’ rights in the context of antiretroviral therapy. He just retired from the Global Fund, where he was the focal point for community responses and drug use. Prior to this he worked for the Open Society Institute and PEPFAR. His experience ranges from treatment advocacy to training, with a strong focus on drug use and human rights. He has two beautiful daughters, eleven and nine years old, both born from a serodiscordant relationship. They couldn’t be healthier.

Global Village and Youth Activities Rapporteurs

Lead: Dezio Macheso, Malawi | Bio



Dezio Macheso is an emerging leader in Global Health who sits on Global Health Corps Malawi Board. He also has served as a Malawi Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism member. He has 7 progressive professional experience in Adolescents and Youth SRHR and HIV and AIDS programing in which he has improved performance of organizations, designed and executed innovative projects. He currently works for Palladium in the USAID funded Health Policy Plus Project as Senior Program Associate were he provides technical support to government and partners at national and district level to effectively implement and monitor implementation of Youth Friendly Health Services Strategy and Family Planning in Malawi. He also provides technical support in policy development.

Bakita Kasadha, United Kingdom | Bio



Bakita is a British born Ugandan, living in the UK. She is a member of the Global Network of Young People Living with HIV, representing west and central Europe. She is also an Associate at the Children's HIV Association and member of Positively UK's steering group. Outside of HIV activism, Bakita is a personal development trainer/facilitator, writer and poet. She has performed internationally and on a TEDx stage. Bakita is also currently studying a masters in anthropology and community development. Visit her website to learn more, www.bakitakk.com.

Cindy Amaiza, Kenya | Bio



I am the current Operation Triple Zero focal person at the National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK). I worked before as communications assistant at Ambassadors for Youth and Adolescent reproductive health programme (AYARHEP) a youth led network that mobilizes adolescents and youth living positively to advocate for their rights. I am also in my final year at the University of Nairobi taking a bachelor degree in Microbiology and Biotechnology. I am in the SRHR Alliance Board where I represent issues affecting girls and young women concerning their reproductive health issues so that they can be included in responses targeted towards them.

Doan Thanh Tung, Vietnam | Bio



Mr. Doan Thanh Tung is the Director of the Lighthouse Social Enterprise, one of the first and largest LGBTQ community-led organization in Viet Nam since 2004. Tung has 8 year experiences working with groups who are young, vulnerable and disadvantaged in the community in Viet Nam. He is a community expert and researcher in the fields of community, stigma and discrimination, sexuality, SRHR and HIV/AIDS in Vietnam. His work ranges from designing, managing and implementing various interventions, preventions programs and innovations based on the LGBTQ community context and needs, conducting researches to evidence-based intervention and advocacy, capacity building and empower community towards a strong and sustainable LGBTQ community.

Jenelle Babb, France | Bio



Jenelle is a Programme Officer in the Section of Health and Education in UNESCO’s Education Programme at the agency’s HQs in Paris. Since 2015 she has been a member of the Section’s team that works on comprehensive sexuality education, sexual and reproductive health and gender equality, with cross-cutting engagement for young people’s leadership and advocacy on their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Prior to joining the team in Paris, Jenelle spent nine years in the UNESCO Caribbean Office delivering UNESCO’s programme on HIV prevention education and school health across the 18 countries covered by that office, and also served as Health Promotion Education Specialist in the Ministry of Education Jamaica.

Tinashe Rufurwadzo, Zimbabwe | Bio



Tinashe Grateful Rufurwadzo is a 26-year-old Junior Media & Communication Specialist with extensive experience in HIV advocacy and communication. Presently he is leading advocacy and communication for Zvandiri programme, which is best known for its unique approach in engaging adolescents and young people living with HIV at the forefront of differentiated service delivery for their peers. Through Global Health eLearning, Tinashe has attained knowledge and skills on Promising Programmatic Approaches for Adolescent & Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health, Manuscript Development, Knowledge Management in Global Health, Health Communication for Managers, and Social Media for Health & Development