Notes From Toronto: Ike Anya at the 16th International AIDS Conference

[Guest guest]

Notes From Toronto: Ike Anya at the 16th International AIDS

Conference

Notes From Toronto:

Ike Anya at the 16th International AIDS Conference

Ikechukwu Anya

Ikechuku Anya is an MSc student of the Infectious and Tropical

Diseases Department, London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

This medical doctor with a deep love of reading and the arts co-

founded the Abuja Literary Society.

Toronto is abuzz as twenty four thousand delegates from all over the

world congregate for the opening of the 16th International AIDS

Conference. It is such a diverse city in itself that the faces from

all over the world seem to blend naturally into the fabric of the

city. It is a pleasant city- a bit like New York without the edge

and the people are warm, friendly and so welcoming that at times, I

wonder if the whole city has been sent to charm school in

preparation for hosting this conference.

A friend from London is surprised at how friendly the attendants in

the coffee shop he pops into for a sandwich are. He says he's been

going to the same coffee shop in London for a year, and has never

been greeted as warmly as he was on entering this Toronto café for

the second time yesterday.

The newspapers and televisions are awash with reports about the

conference and about HIV/AIDS beaming a huge searchlight on the

various issues that HIV/AIDS highlights- politics, gender, legal,

economic, medical and social- these are all facets of the pandemic

and this is echoed in the huge diversity of delegates to the

conference. Activists with brightly coloured hair and multiple

piercings rub shoulders with distinguished professors, political

leaders, sedate grandmothers and boisterous youths from all over the

world. It is a world in a city, and all brought together by what

continues to be a global crisis- the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

I have now been in Toronto for three days, attending and speaking at

the pre-conference workshop for journalists organized by the

National Press Foundation for journalists covering the AIDS

conference. Having successfully (I think) conducted my session on

basic epidemiology for journalists; I have met journalists from a

wide array of countries. I am impressed by their commitment and

understanding, and enlightened by the insights they provide. For

instance, some journalists from China speak of the difficulties in

accurately holding government agencies to account on HIV in a

country where official information is very tightly controlled. I

half-jokingly suggest that they speak to the two Nigerian

journalists present to gain insights into how they coped during the

Abacha years. There are two Nigerian journalists present- Bimbola

Odumosu, health editor for Radio Lagos and Ebere Ahanihu, Assistant

Features Editor of The Guardian. He has just completed a book

chronicling the history of HIV in Nigeria and I tell him how

impressed I am that he is documenting what is surely a very

important part of our nation's history.

Yesterday I attended another historical event- the inauguration of

the African/Black Diaspora Stream at the International AIDS

Conference at City Hall Toronto. This is the first time this has

been done, and the idea is to bring together delegates and experts

from Africa as well as Africans living and working on HIV related

issues to form a network through which they can discuss and seek

ways of working together. Sitting in the cavernous Council chambers,

it is interesting to see, for instance, the disparities among the

different European Union countries in terms of their approach to

immigrants with HIV and in terms of what services they provide.

There are several powerful speakers, but Winnie Sseruma, chairperson

of the UK based African HIV Policy Network stands out in my mind

with her exhortation to organizations working with Africans and

black people on HIV/AIDS issues to make involvement in policy making

a priority. As she puts it, " If you are just concentrating on

delivering services and are not involved in lobbying and policy

making, then you are doing something wrong " It's an important point

which appears to have struck a chord with the audience.

There are presentations from the Ontario Minister of Health and from

one of the Toronto city councilors and when we retire for the

evening reception, a powerful performance from Sheryl Lee Ralph, the

American actress and entertainer. In an extremely moving

performance, she provides excerpts from her one woman

show " Sometimes I cry " - which explores the voices of women affected

by HIV. The monologues are all based on true stories and she brings

many in the audience to the brink of tears. By the time she finishes

the piece entitled " My African Sister, Ms Ralph is herself in tears,

as the character recounts how her sister died as a result of HIV

despite being faithful and always doing what she was told, infected

by her feckless husband. As she recites the words " He never told her

before he died, it was a secret- ah so many secrets…. " The audience

nod vigorously. Ms Ralph is a consummate performer and she glides

smoothly through various accents and personas as she gives voice to

the various female faces of the epidemic- now weeping, now laughing;

now singing- she takes questions from the audience at the end.

Apparently she presented the piece at the recent Leon Sullivan

Summit in Abuja and many African leaders present said how she had

brought the reality of HIV home to them in a way in which the

numerous briefings they have had have not.

Today again is an inspiring day- listening to the UN

Secretary General's envoy is electrifying. He is that rare thing- a

subversive in the Establishment and as he discusses strategies for

tackling the pharmaceutical companies, the G8, patent laws, the WTO,

the audience swoons with admiration. But he is not the only hero of

the session, organized by Medecins Sans Frontieres to highlight the

challenges still faced in bringing anti-retroviral treatment to all

the people that need it worldwide. There is Anil from the Clinton

Foundation who speaks eloquently of the efforts that the Fund is

making in negotiating with pharmaceutical companies. Then there is

Anand Grover the Indian patent rights lawyer who speaks of the

efforts of his organization, The Lawyers' Collective to ensure that

unfair patent laws pushed by the pharmaceutical companies and the

World Trade Organization are resisted vigorously in India. His

presentation is fascinating and draws applause several times. I

wonder if there are lessons to be learned for Nigeria. There is also

Ibrahim Umoru, a peer advisor with Medecins Sans Frontieres in Lagos

who speaks with passion and occasional humour of the challenges he

faced accessing anti-retroviral drugs since his diagnosis in 2001.

His passion enthuses the audience and as he pleads with them to join

Medicins Sans Frontieres in ensuring access to drugs for all who

need them, I am proud of him as a fellow Nigerian. This is the other

face of HIV, the empowerment that I see in many Nigerians as a

result of their battles to live.

As I make my way to the opening ceremony, I realize that as always,

this is going to be an inspiring and educative conference.

[Guest guest]

Notes From Toronto: Ike Anya at the 16th International AIDS

Conference

Notes From Toronto:

Ike Anya at the 16th International AIDS Conference

Ikechukwu Anya

Ikechuku Anya is an MSc student of the Infectious and Tropical

Diseases Department, London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

This medical doctor with a deep love of reading and the arts co-

founded the Abuja Literary Society.

Toronto is abuzz as twenty four thousand delegates from all over the

world congregate for the opening of the 16th International AIDS

Conference. It is such a diverse city in itself that the faces from

all over the world seem to blend naturally into the fabric of the

city. It is a pleasant city- a bit like New York without the edge

and the people are warm, friendly and so welcoming that at times, I

wonder if the whole city has been sent to charm school in

preparation for hosting this conference.

A friend from London is surprised at how friendly the attendants in

the coffee shop he pops into for a sandwich are. He says he's been

going to the same coffee shop in London for a year, and has never

been greeted as warmly as he was on entering this Toronto café for

the second time yesterday.

The newspapers and televisions are awash with reports about the

conference and about HIV/AIDS beaming a huge searchlight on the

various issues that HIV/AIDS highlights- politics, gender, legal,

economic, medical and social- these are all facets of the pandemic

and this is echoed in the huge diversity of delegates to the

conference. Activists with brightly coloured hair and multiple

piercings rub shoulders with distinguished professors, political

leaders, sedate grandmothers and boisterous youths from all over the

world. It is a world in a city, and all brought together by what

continues to be a global crisis- the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

I have now been in Toronto for three days, attending and speaking at

the pre-conference workshop for journalists organized by the

National Press Foundation for journalists covering the AIDS

conference. Having successfully (I think) conducted my session on

basic epidemiology for journalists; I have met journalists from a

wide array of countries. I am impressed by their commitment and

understanding, and enlightened by the insights they provide. For

instance, some journalists from China speak of the difficulties in

accurately holding government agencies to account on HIV in a

country where official information is very tightly controlled. I

half-jokingly suggest that they speak to the two Nigerian

journalists present to gain insights into how they coped during the

Abacha years. There are two Nigerian journalists present- Bimbola

Odumosu, health editor for Radio Lagos and Ebere Ahanihu, Assistant

Features Editor of The Guardian. He has just completed a book

chronicling the history of HIV in Nigeria and I tell him how

impressed I am that he is documenting what is surely a very

important part of our nation's history.

Yesterday I attended another historical event- the inauguration of

the African/Black Diaspora Stream at the International AIDS

Conference at City Hall Toronto. This is the first time this has

been done, and the idea is to bring together delegates and experts

from Africa as well as Africans living and working on HIV related

issues to form a network through which they can discuss and seek

ways of working together. Sitting in the cavernous Council chambers,

it is interesting to see, for instance, the disparities among the

different European Union countries in terms of their approach to

immigrants with HIV and in terms of what services they provide.

There are several powerful speakers, but Winnie Sseruma, chairperson

of the UK based African HIV Policy Network stands out in my mind

with her exhortation to organizations working with Africans and

black people on HIV/AIDS issues to make involvement in policy making

a priority. As she puts it, " If you are just concentrating on

delivering services and are not involved in lobbying and policy

making, then you are doing something wrong " It's an important point

which appears to have struck a chord with the audience.

There are presentations from the Ontario Minister of Health and from

one of the Toronto city councilors and when we retire for the

evening reception, a powerful performance from Sheryl Lee Ralph, the

American actress and entertainer. In an extremely moving

performance, she provides excerpts from her one woman

show " Sometimes I cry " - which explores the voices of women affected

by HIV. The monologues are all based on true stories and she brings

many in the audience to the brink of tears. By the time she finishes

the piece entitled " My African Sister, Ms Ralph is herself in tears,

as the character recounts how her sister died as a result of HIV

despite being faithful and always doing what she was told, infected

by her feckless husband. As she recites the words " He never told her

before he died, it was a secret- ah so many secrets…. " The audience

nod vigorously. Ms Ralph is a consummate performer and she glides

smoothly through various accents and personas as she gives voice to

the various female faces of the epidemic- now weeping, now laughing;

now singing- she takes questions from the audience at the end.

Apparently she presented the piece at the recent Leon Sullivan

Summit in Abuja and many African leaders present said how she had

brought the reality of HIV home to them in a way in which the

numerous briefings they have had have not.

Today again is an inspiring day- listening to the UN

Secretary General's envoy is electrifying. He is that rare thing- a

subversive in the Establishment and as he discusses strategies for

tackling the pharmaceutical companies, the G8, patent laws, the WTO,

the audience swoons with admiration. But he is not the only hero of

the session, organized by Medecins Sans Frontieres to highlight the

challenges still faced in bringing anti-retroviral treatment to all

the people that need it worldwide. There is Anil from the Clinton

Foundation who speaks eloquently of the efforts that the Fund is

making in negotiating with pharmaceutical companies. Then there is

Anand Grover the Indian patent rights lawyer who speaks of the

efforts of his organization, The Lawyers' Collective to ensure that

unfair patent laws pushed by the pharmaceutical companies and the

World Trade Organization are resisted vigorously in India. His

presentation is fascinating and draws applause several times. I

wonder if there are lessons to be learned for Nigeria. There is also

Ibrahim Umoru, a peer advisor with Medecins Sans Frontieres in Lagos

who speaks with passion and occasional humour of the challenges he

faced accessing anti-retroviral drugs since his diagnosis in 2001.

His passion enthuses the audience and as he pleads with them to join

Medicins Sans Frontieres in ensuring access to drugs for all who

need them, I am proud of him as a fellow Nigerian. This is the other

face of HIV, the empowerment that I see in many Nigerians as a

result of their battles to live.

As I make my way to the opening ceremony, I realize that as always,

this is going to be an inspiring and educative conference.