Microbicides 2008. New Delhi. Preconference event

[Guest guest]

M2008 Pre-Conference Advocates Workshop Survey

Dear AIDS India forum members,

The African Microbicides Advocacy Group (AMAG), the Global Campaign for

Microbicides (GCM), Indian Network of NGOs (INN), the National Coalition on

Health Initiative (NCHI) and the Positive Women Network (PWN+) invite you to

attend the 2008 Microbicides Pre-Conference Workshop on Sunday, February 24,

2008 from 09:00 – 15:30 in New Delhi, India preceding the formal opening of the

Microbicides 2008 Conference (scheduled to begin at 16:00).

The goals of the pre-conference workshop are:

• To prepare advocates and clinical trial staff with information,

background and a platform for discussion so they can fully participate in the

M2008 Conference;

• To draw the connections between research priorities and advocacy

priorities; and

• To equip participants with tools and information that may strengthen

their communities’ increased involvement with the larger microbicides movement

and with ongoing research and advocacy in their countries

We are planning this year's pre-conference workshop in hopes of meeting the

needs of an ever-expanding network of microbicide advocates. We will start with

an introductory session flagging key and emerging issues to be on the watch for

during the Microbicides 2008 conference and then will separate into four smaller

break-out sessions. The four groups will then come back together for a closing

session.

For the break-out sessions we would like to offer workshop participants the

opportunity to have more in-depth discussion on current issues, or to use the

time for strategy development and cross-learning in key areas of microbicide

advocacy.

So that the sessions are most useful to your work, we would like to ask for YOUR

HELP IN DECIDING THE TOPICS OF THE BREAK-OUT SESSIONS.

Please take a moment to review the topics below and give your feedback on which

would be most useful to have as break-out sessions at the Pre-Conference

Workshop.

INSTRUCTIONS

You can complete this important survey in one of two ways:

1. Follow the link below to complete the survey online using Survey Monkey

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=PIHsvhAoUiIjVpI56gtT8A_3d_3d

OR

2. Email the completed survey form, pasted below, to kwest@....

a. In the body of the text, add your comments on each of the options presented.

b. Please review each topic and rank them from 1-6, 1 being the most interesting

or critical to include and 6 being the least interesting and/or critical.

Please complete the survey by Wednesday, October 26th, 2007.

Thank you for taking the time to help us in our planning and we look forward to

seeing you in New Delhi!

Sincerely,

The African Microbicides Advocacy Group (AMAG) Global Campaign for Microbicides

(GCM) Indian Network of NGOs (INN) National Coalition on Health Initiative

(NCHI) Positive Women Network (PWN+)

For more information about the session, please write to kwest@... .

M2008 PRE-CONFERENCE SURVEY

Possible Break-out Session Topics:

1. Knowledge Session: Microbicides 101

This session will cover the basics of microbicides: products, mechanisms of

action, the clinical research process and an introduction to ethical issues in

HIV prevention trials.

2. Knowledge Session: An Introduction to ARV-based Microbicides & Resistance

This session will cover the new line of ARV-based microbicide candidates

entering the research pipeline, the rationale of exploring such candidates,

issues unique to ARV-based products, including resistance, and a discussion of

the questions the field has yet to answer.

3. Skills-building Session: When Trials End – the Role of Advocacy What makes a

successful trial? What are some of the reasons a trial might be stopped? What

can we learn from recent trial results and closures? In this session we will

discuss recent trial closures and what role the advocacy community can have in

helping communities and the public interpreting the results.

4. Skills-building: HIV Prevention Research Advocacy Training & Campaign

Building This session will present a structured view of advocacy, the need for

advocacy campaigns and will introduce participants to various strategies and

tools for building advocacy campaigns at local, national and regional levels.

5. Skills-building Session: What Makes a Trial Ethical?

This session will explore different tools and principles available for

evaluating the ethics of a proposed clinical trial. We will examine the systems

in place to protect trial participants, discuss basic ethical principles, and

practice applying these concepts to a particular case study.

6. Skills-building Session: Managing Expectations When will microbicides be

available in my country? How effective will they be? Why is development taking

so long? This session will focus on answering hard questions in an era of

uncertainty. How can we maintain enthusiasm for microbicides without feeding

into unrealistic expectations?

7. Other Suggestions (please explain in detail): If you have an idea for a

break-out session that is not represented in the above list, please write-in

your proposed topic here.

Paramita Kundu

e-mail: <paramita1_kundu@...>