HIV criminalisation - increases transmission 2

Last week I touched on the reasons why criminalisation of HIV is disadvantageous to women. Today, I will just wrap up on how criminalisation of HIV causes more harm than good.

6. Women are more likely to be prosecuted:
Since women are more likely to know their HIV status, they are also more likely to be prosecuted for HIV exposure and transmission, since knowledge of one’s HIV positive status is often a necessary element for prosecution. At the same time, women are least likely to have access to legal services and, thus, a fair trial. The burden of proof and the biased application of the law further increase women’s risks of being charged, prosecuted and found ‘guilty’ of HIV exposure or transmission.

7. Some women might be prosecuted for mother-to-child transmission:
Some laws criminalizing HIV transmission or exposure are drafted broadly enough to include transmission during pregnancy or breastfeeding. For millions of women, living with HIV – but often denied access to family planning, reproductive health services, or medicines that prevent perinatal transmission of HIV – this effectively makes pregnancy, intended or not, a criminal offense. Further, it is increasingly recognized that in many middle and low-income settings, breastfeeding is the best option for child survival and well-being, despite the possibility of HIV transmission. There are many more effective ways to prevent perinatal transmission of HIV, beginning with supporting the rights of all women to make informed decisions about pregnancy and providing them with sexual and reproductive information and services; preventing HIV in women and girls in the first place; preventing unwanted pregnancies among all women; and providing effective medication and healthcare services to prevent perinatal transmission for HIV positive women, who wish to have children, or who are pregnant.

8. Women will be more vulnerable to HIV transmission:
Existing barriers limiting women’s access to information, resources and services, including gender inequalities and inequities, will be compounded by the fear of prosecution for HIV exposure or transmission. The gendered access to health information and services, combined with the fear of being criminalized for exposing or transmitting HIV to someone, will place women in an even lesser position of power to negotiate conditions of sex, as negotiating condom use may be perceived as ‘proof’ of knowledge of an HIV positive diagnosis.

9. The most ‘vulnerable and marginalized’ women will be most affected:
‘Vulnerable and marginalized’ women, such as women in same-sex relationships, and women sex workers and drug users, often lack adequate access to HIV prevention, testing, treatment, care, and support services, primarily as a result of their existing ‘criminalized’ status. The criminalization of HIV exposure and transmission is likely to further stigmatize already ‘criminalized’ women and to constitute yet another barrier to healthcare and other services by posing a threat of double prosecution – prosecution for engaging in ‘criminal behavior’ and for HIV exposure or transmission.

10. Human rights responses to HIV are most effective:
Now, more than ever, greater attention to human rights is needed in the response to the global HIV epidemic. Criminalizing HIV exposure and transmission compromises human rights, undermines public health initiatives, and increases especially women’s risks and vulnerabilities.

HIV criminalisation - increases transmission

Its 2016!! Great. But how is the year going to be as far as HIV is concerned. There are things I am still worried about and I feel, this is the year to deal with such. There are laws in most parts of Southern Africa especially in Zimbabwe that still criminalise HIV transmission and exposure.

In Zimbabwe, criminalisation of HIV is known as willful or deliberate transmission of HIV. In the Zimbabwean law, willful transmission is defined as the failure to disclose one's status or take precautions for preventing the transmission of HIV. The law is used to prosecute people for transmitting HIV or exposing others to HIV.

 Picture taken from: www.hivjustice.net

The call to apply criminal law to HIV exposure and transmission is often driven by a well-intentioned wish to protect women, and to respond to serious concerns about the ongoing rapid spread of HIV in many countries, coupled with the perceived failure of existing HIV prevention.

This law is a deliberate way of fanning discrimination, here is why.

1. Women will be deterred from accessing HIV prevention, treatment, and care services, including HIV testing:

Many women fear violence and rejection associated with disclosure and an HIV + diagnosis. The criminalisation of HIV transmission or exposure may generate additional obstacles to healthcare for women. Prevailing stigma, discrimination and other violations of rights, including the lack of assured confidentiality, already pose a barrier to HIV prevention and testing services.

2. Women are more likely to be blamed for HIV transmission:

Women are often the first to know their HIV positive status; particularly as governments move towards provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling in pre-natal settings. Thus, women are more likely to be blamed by health staff, by their intimate partners, their partners’ families, and their communities for ‘bringing HIV into the home.

3. Women will be at greater risk of HIV-related violence and abuse:

While violence increases women’s risks of HIV transmission, women’s HIV-positive diagnosis also increases the risks of violence. The fear of violence deters women from disclosing their HIV status. Research indicates that young positive women are ten times more likely to experience violence and abuse, than their HIV negative counterparts. There are also increasing reports of women being killed by their partners for ‘bringing HIV into the family’.

4. Criminalization of HIV exposure or transmission does not protect women from coercion or violence:

Sexual violence and rape, including marital rape, place women worldwide at risk of HIV transmission. Laws against sexual violence, where they exist, are often poorly enforced. Similarly, government policies and guidelines that call for providing sexual violence survivors with necessary medical treatment, including emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy and post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent contracting HIV, are often not implemented.

5. Women’s rights to make informed sexual and reproductive choices will be further compromised:

The patriarchal context of society undermines the power of many women to make informed choices, including sexual and reproductive choices. As a result, women are often not in a position to negotiate the conditions of sex, including whether or not to engage in sex, as well as to negotiate condom use. Women also often have limited access to sexual and reproductive health and rights information to inform their choices, and to access non-discriminatory and unbiased sexual and reproductive healthcare services.

While these concerns are legitimate and must be urgently addressed, closer analysis reveals that criminalisation does not prevent new HIV transmissions or reduce women’s vulnerabilities to HIV. In fact, criminalisation harms women, rather than assists them, while negatively impacting on both public health needs and human rights protections.

LGBT in Zimbabwe still queer

 Picture taken from www.milehighgayguy.com

The first reported case of AIDS in Zimbabwe occurred in 1985.  By the end of the 1980s, around 10 percent of the adult population was thought to be infected with HIV. However, 30 years later stigma and discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity continues to drive new HIV infections and is an obstacle to treatment efforts.

The right to health is entitled to everyone. Access to HIV treatment, care and support belongs to everyone. Can the same be said when it comes to Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) communities in Zimbabwe?

Censual sexual intercourse between men is still criminalised in Zimbabwe.  This criminalisation of consensual intercourse between people of the same sex fuels  homophobic and transphobic which is arguably the number one factor that has made it hard for the LGBT community to access sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services.

The LGBT community in the country seems to be invisible and almost non-existent. Barriers of stigma, human rights violations continue to dog this community especially for people that don't have the financial muscle to seek assistance from private health institutions. SRHR services are so far accessible when preferred identity is assumed. 

I spoke to quite a number of people from the LGBT community at the sexual rights centre (SRC) stand and they shared with me several obstacles faced when it comes to the right to health.

“I went to the clinic the other day. I was consulted by a nurse. I shared with her my fears that I could be infected with an STI. She was polite, understood my fears at first but her attitude changed until I revealed to her that my partner - female, wasn’t aware of what I had been facing. She closed her book and told me to leave because; it wasn’t possible for one female to infect the other with an STI. I left without getting any help. Weeks later, when I had enough money, I went to a private surgeon, who treated me this infection without questions asked,” said Ramone*

According to a survey conducted by the SRC, it was revealed that people from the LGBT communities are more afraid of the attitudes they have to deal with when testing for HIV rather than knowing their HIV status.

 “While total engagement with the government and main health institutions remains a hard to reach goal due to the level of homophobia and transphobia in the country, much can still be done to increase access to health services in Zimbabwe by the LGBTI community. In the fight and reduction of HIV, there is need for increased awareness of transmission of HIV and STIs to decrease the vulnerability for this community,” said Samantha Ndlovu, SRC programs coordinator.

UNAIDS has set a 90:90:90 target for 2020 to accelerate reaching epidemic control 90 percent of PLHIV know their status, 90 percent of those that know their status are adherent on ART, 90 percent of those on ART are virally suppressed.

This year World Aids Day 2015 Theme has been envisaged to be “Getting to Zero” by the World AIDS Campaign. There will never be a “getting to zero” when stigma and discrimination is not completely wiped out especially on key populations such as LGBT. Until Zimbabwe comes to point when access to HIV treatment, care, support and all forms of health services, favours no sexuality, efforts made to reduce Africa’s prevalence rate will just go unnoticed.

40 % of minors in Zimbabwe sell sex

Picture taken from chronicle.co.zw

Forty percent of young people in Zimbabwe started selling sex before the age of 18, it has been revealed.

According to The Aids Fonds – Stepping Stones, Sexual Rights Centre (SRC), a Bulawayo based organisation, conducted a needs assessment among young people selling sex.

The findings stress the importance of recognised minors and young people selling sex as a reality that requires a pragmatic response to ensure protection of their SRH rights, as well as their human rights

The Aids Fonds – Stepping Stones project is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands is being implemented in 18 countries across Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Community based organisations conducted needs assessments in Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. The research entailed in-depth interviews (Unstructured and semi-structured), a section of survey and focus group discussions in 12 countries, with 635 participants between 14-28 years of age.

Topics included needs, desires and obstacles in daily life; the context of selling sex; experiences with violence; knowledge of their; ways of generating income; and access to health services.

“Poverty, escaping a restrictive home environment and peer pressure to upgrade lifestyle, None of the participants consider themselves forced to sell sex by others.”

The human rights of minors and young people selling sex are often violated by the police as 51 percent are not aware of having legal rights.

“All participants started to have exchanged sexual favours with the police to avoid arrest. The police rarely file reports of violence against young people selling sex.”

Stigma and discrimination by health professionals often hampers young people selling sex to access   sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services.

“Sixty-seven percent experience stigma and discrimination because they sell sex. They prefer to visit traditional healers instead of qualified health professionals.”

Recommendations from findings included: “Creation of support and referrals systems for minors and young people selling sex. There is need to sensitise health professionals and police to reduce stigma and harassment of minors and young people selling sex.”

Minors and young people who sell sex are one of the most marginalised and vulnerable groups in society. When community organisations encounter minors working on the streets and in brothels, they face a difficult: how to work with them without risking being seen as encouraging them into the sex industry? As a result, young people and minors selling sex are often ignored in sexual and reproductive health, HIV and human rights interventions, despite their vulnerability.

Stigma against MSM continues to rise in Africa

African Men for Sexual Health and Rights (AMSHeR) launched a preliminary report that documents the typology of stigma and discrimination faced by (Gay Men, Men who have sex with men (MSM), Transgender who are HIV – positive (GMT+) at the recently ended 18^th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) 2015.

The report also speaks on the best practices in addressing stigma and discrimination against GMT+ .

According to Kennedy Otieno who is the overall GMT+ coordinator, the preliminary report was based on a literature review and key informant interviews carried out between September 28th and October 26th, 2015. An online survey is also planned as an immediate follow up to key informant interviews.

Picture taken from the body.com

“The protocol was inspired by key topics from the Stigma Index of People living with HIV. Experiences of GMT+ explored stigma and discrimination community, social and service settings. Additional questions exploring the structural determinants of stigma and discrimination – such as access to redress/remedy - were included in the protocol.

“16 GMT+ individuals were selected as key informants for in-depth interviews. The individuals were selected through nomination and recommendation by the GMT+ group and AMSHeR member organisations. Interviews were conducted along the themes and topics agreed in the protocol,” He added.

None of the reviews described direct experiences of stigma and discrimination People living with HIV (PLWHIV) or within LGBT groups. However, the UNAIDS review of stigma index reports in East Africa revealed specific themes, which could be linked to discrimination:

•             LGBT Organisations (including those working on HIV issues) feel excluded from the stigma index process as a whole.

•             In the review, LGBT groups felt that the sampling methodology did not reach their membership and that the Index also did not include questions that reflected their issues or concerns. And more specifically, the question of stigmatisation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity within PLWHIV communities is never asked.

In Liberia, it was revealed that they were not being included in the study from the start, but after much lobbying and advocacy some GMT + individuals were selected to participate. Despite this effort; subsequent issues arising from GMT+ participation were never analysed or published in the final report.

GMT+ populations are especially vulnerable due to specific stigma and discrimination related to the socio-cultural environments, their identities and sexual practices.
The review of stigma index reports reveals that rights abuse, inability to access care and experiences of stigma and discrimination were more frequently reported by GMT+ respondents than the general HIV group.

The report notes the higher vulnerability of GMT+ due to their sexual orientation/practices.  The report also notes the difficulty of reacting to cases of discrimination or right abuses:  “These cases are more complex: the non-acceptation of those practices does not facilitate a favourable action to defend them”. Furthermore, the Gambia report noted that “key populations” (in general) “are hidden and silent even among PLHIV network and support groups”.

How GBV connects with HIV

Gender based violence (GBV) is rooted in socio-economic inequality and can take many forms including emotional, mental, sexual, verbal, and physical abuse. GBV can affect males and females but women and children are most vulnerable because they are seen as occupying inferior positions to men.

Although it is argued that women are biologically more vulnerable to HIV infection, it has been found that women who are exposed to GBV are also more likely to be HIV-positive because of the small tears in the vagina which allow HIV to enter the body can occur during the often violent act of rape while the use of condoms cannot be effectively negotiated for by most women.

In an interview with Nontyatyambo Makapela from the AIDS legal network (ALN), a human rights organisation based in South Africa, I came to realise that violence and other rights abuses against women have become an integral part in the women’s rights discourse. Meaning there is arguably a  link between high cases of GBV against women and the high HIV prevalence rate by women.

“Our rights are violated everywhere as women, and because of my gender I am more prone to discrimination. There are double layers, different layers of violations that women have to go through so basically these are the realities of faced by women in the contested of HIV,” says Makapela.

 Picture taken from www.jamaicaobserver.com

She further explains how women are more vulnerable to HIV: “In reality a woman can get access to a female condom at the clinic but it’s another story when she gets home she is then compelled to negotiate the use of that female condom with my partner.”

Recently, the National Aids Council (NAC) identified gender imbalances as one of the key drivers of HIV. According to research, women in Zimbabwe account for more that 60 percent of the 1.2 million people living with HIV in the country.

Now it is therefore our role to play as society to ensure that women are not at risk to such factors that will at the end of the day make them vulnerable to diseases like HIV.

1.2 million condoms distributed at ICASA 2015

There is a renewed emphasis on condoms at the18th edition of the International Conference of AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) in Harare, Zimbabwe from 29 November to 04 December 2015 as a campaign promoting their use and availability has been re-launched with the distribution of over one million condoms.

The CONDOMIZE! Campaign aims to highlight the effectiveness of condoms, male and female, for HIV prevention and calls on governments, donors and users to intensify access to, and demand for, quality condoms as a primary defence against HIV.  It advocates investing significant resources and materials into promoting condom use as the most efficient and available prevention technology in the global AIDS response. Challenging the stigma that still often surrounds condoms is also a key objective.

Picture taken from twitter.com

According to Adrian Gonzatez, creative director for CONDOMIZE, the most popular condom during ICASA 2015 was the glowing condom.

“A total of 1.2 million male condoms and 15 000 female condoms were put aside for distribution before, during and after the conference. The condoms that glow in the dark proved as the most favourite amongst members of the public because we completely ran out of them by Wednesday,” he added.

The initiative was born during the 2010 International AIDS Conference in Vienna and is a partnership between UNFPA and The Condom Project, in close collaboration with Bahamas Red Cross; DKT International, a social marketing NGO; Durex, the Female Health Company, the International AIDS Society and UNAIDS.

In addition to mass condom distribution, rap music with short videos has been created, using key messages from senior international leaders about the importance of condom use. These messages are being shown on TV screens throughout the conference.

Gonzatez said CONDOMIZE is campaign of attraction than promotion in modern and exciting ways by helping people understand very serious issues and the need to encourage condom use.

At ICASA 2015, the campaign is using education, distribution of the condoms, negotiation of condom use and destigmatisation.

The campaign noted that there is a considerable shortfall in condom availability in a number of countries. For example, in 2011 in sub-Saharan Africa there were only nine condoms available per man per year and only one female condom for every 10 women. These condoms were mostly provided by donors as most low- and middle-income countries do not have a budget line for condom procurement.

Condoms are not demons

Condoms must be used even if they are not prayed for says Pastor Paul Sanyangore at the CONDOMIZE zone during the 18th edition of the International Conference on Aids and STIs (ICASA) 2015.

Sanyangore's words of wisdom came barely a month after he prayed for condoms during a church service which left many questioning the moral element of having condoms in church.

"I encourage people to play it safe. Condoms are there to help you. They must be used even if they are not prayed for but if someone comes and says I should pray for them - I will. Condoms are not from the devil," said Sanyangore.

Although he said HIV is from the devil, he highlighted that condoms only protect people from HIV the physically.

 “With condoms, they are made to address the physical side of HIV but we need to also understand that HIV has a spiritual side. HIV is also a demon, from the devil. With my spiritual expertise, I can only address what I can, what I am able to address. So when I pray for them (condoms) I will be addressing the demon of HIV. The anointing and the power of God protects spiritual.

“Condoms are just a physical side of HIV, the anointing or the power of God addresses the spiritual side. If u came to me and they say pastor pray for it, I will pray for it,” said the man of God.

Sanyangore further explored the spiritual angle of HIV which has not been talked about by most spiritual leaders in the country.

“Condoms are not demons, condoms are not bad. You need to understand that if you put HIV, and put a condom there and if I tell you to pick from the two which one is from the devil?” he said.

The man of God also mentioned the role that churches can play in the fight against HIV and reaching the 90:90:90 target by UNAIDS.

“We are a church we believe in families, infact we are a product of families. The more people talk about these things in the families the more they are addressed,” Sanyangore said.

However, there were other members of the public that did not go well with Sanyangore’s sentiments.

“The issue of anointed condoms is not an issue. Condoms should not be anointed because they go through quality assurance test… There is no use to take condoms to church and have them anointed,” said a participant during the dialogue.

The remarks by Sanyangore come at a time when there seems to be a gap in churches as far as condom education is concerned and the methods that congregates can use to protect themselves from HIV.

“

Breaking down barriers

Today, which is the international day of disabled persons, comes at a time when language and physical barriers continue to affect people living with disability.

Commemorations during the 18^th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) 2015 will be done at the Disability Zone in the Community Village later on during the day.

This year’s theme is: Inclusion matters: access and empowerment of people of all abilities.

“The intersection of World Aids Day on December 1 and the World Disability Day on December 3, provides an opportunity to reflect on the effectiveness of the global AIDS response for the 1 billion people,15 percent of the world’s population, who live with a physical, sensory (i.e blindness, deafness), intellectual or mental health impairment. Unfortunately, there is little encouraging to report,” read a statement from the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) HIV and Disability Task Group.

Arguably a greater barrier than stigma and prejudice is ignorance of what it means to live with a disability. Need for greater awareness extends to government and public health officials, health providers and community outreach workers, the very people charged with ensuring that HIV education and services, and more broadly, sexual and reproductive health, universal health coverage and gender based violence (GBV) programmes reach everyone.

In an interview with Dr Aida Zerbo from Handicap International in Senegal and also the manager of Project Access, a plethora of challenges that threaten matters of inclusivity were highlighted.

“In Africa, when it comes to access to sexual reproductive health and rights, there is no available information which in the long run fuels misconceptions such as AIDS being a myth and that it is curable. Without readily available, adequate and inclusive information, people living with disabilities are the faced with a big challenge of access health services.

“In the few instances where information could be there, challenges of language, physical and basic communication barriers make it impossible for disabled people to interact directly with health services providers. At the end of the end, there is no way of knowing if one has received the right services for the problem they have,” she said.

Dr Zerbo also mentioned that the right to privacy for people living with disability was violated by most service providers owing to communication barriers.

“When it comes to counselling, before or after testing, so many times we have heard and experienced cases whereby the confidentiality of disabled persons are broken due to the introduction of a third party who plays the role of the interpreter because most health services providers lack inclusive training on how to deal with such people,” she added.

The annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons was proclaimed in 1992, by the United Nations General Assembly resolution. The observance of the Day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilise support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

2016 amfAR HIV Scholars Program Announcement

APPLICATIONS DUE 17 SEPTEMBER 2015 – 5:00 P.M. EDT

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research and the Center for LGBT Health Research at the Graduate School of Public Health (“Pitt Public Health”) at the University of Pittsburgh are announcing the continuation of the amfAR HIV Scholars Program: a training program for junior investigators from low- and middle-income countries who are interested in conducting HIV research among gay men, other men who have sex with men (MSM), and/or transgender individuals (collectively, GMT). 

Four scholars from low- and middle-income countries will be accepted into the program for 2016. The program aims to build indigenous capacity to research GMT individuals’ health in low- and middle-income countries by training young investigators to conduct ground-breaking research on HIV among GMT individuals in resource-limited settings. The program also seeks to support emerging GMT leaders who will help define effective responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic among GMT populations in their home countries. The training program is being conducted in collaboration with an existing training program in LGBT health research at the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh.

Eligibility to Apply

Junior investigators from low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, or Oceania committed to studying HIV prevention and care needs among GMT individuals in their home countries are invited to apply to this program. Applicants must be fluent in English and able to read and write English at a high academic level.

Core Training Program

The training program includes three graduate-level classes to be taken in Pittsburgh, PA, USA, from January through May 2016, which is equivalent to a full-time graduate course load. The first of these classes is an overview of LGBT health research, the second is a research methods class, and the third is an advanced research methods class that focuses on research proposal writing. As part of these classes, scholars will develop a research question and write a short proposal (10–15 pages) that will be submitted to amfAR for peer review and possible funding at a pilot project level. During their time in Pittsburgh, participating scholars will also:

• Complete on-line courses in the ethical conduct of research;
• Complete a draft questionnaire for their proposed research study;
• Create a PowerPoint presentation to be delivered to amfAR staff during a visit to amfAR’s office in New York; and
• Develop a draft IRB application

Scholars will also attend two additional research methods seminars each week: one that focuses on HIV/LGBT health research being conducted by doctoral and post-doctoral students and professors at the Center for LGBT Health Research, and another that focuses specifically on the research being designed by the scholars themselves. Additional events sponsored by the Graduate School of Public Health and the Center for LGBT Health Research are also open to the scholars.

Funding and Support

Expenses covered by the program will include round-trip travel between the scholars’ home countries and Pittsburgh, PA, USA, visa fees, housing, a modest stipend to support the scholars during their time in Pittsburgh, and training-related costs. Scholars should plan to bring their own laptop computers to Pittsburgh to support their training.

Research proposals will be submitted to amfAR at the conclusion of the training program in the hope that each scholar will receive a pilot research grant to implement his or her proposed study. Please note that this funding is not guaranteed. If research proposals are selected for funding by amfAR, scholars will begin work on their projects after returning to their home countries.

The primary goal of the program is to increase the number of investigators in low- and middle-income countries who are able to conduct research among GMT individuals, advocate for their health needs, and, as a result, improve both HIV services and care for GMT individuals in these settings. It is also hoped that the training program will function to help advance the participating scholars’ careers and future training prospects and increase the amount of research being conducted among GMT individuals in low and middle income countries.

Application Instructions

The procedures for applying to the program are simple. Only three documents are needed:

• A letter of intent (3 page limit) that includes a short work history of the applicant and explains why s/he is interested in studying HIV prevention and care needs among GMT individuals. The letter of intent should relate the applicant’s research and/or training experience relevant to their research interests, and indicate the applicant’s capacity to design and run a research project.
• A resume or CV that lists the applicant’s training and job history.
• A short outline (1–2 pages) of the research topic that the applicant would like to develop into a grant application during their time at the University of Pittsburgh. This outline should include a clear research question (or questions) and indicate the feasibility of conducting this research in the proposed setting and with the proposed population.

Applications that are designed to focus on issues relevant to the HIV treatment cascade (i.e., innovative ways to identify unknown HIV seropositives; help patients who have been diagnosed as HIV positive access medical care, stay in treatment, and improve treatment adherence; and reconnect HIV-positive patients who have dropped out of medical care) are especially encouraged.

The due date for applications is 17 September 2015 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. We plan to identify the four finalists for the training program by 1 November 2015, at the latest, and scholars should plan to arrive in Pittsburgh by 5 January 2016. Interested applicants should submit the three application documents via email to Dr. Ron Stall at rstall@pitt.edu. If you have any questions or comments regarding this announcement, please send them to Dr. Stall at the same email address.