IAPAC NEWS BULLETIN — AUGUST 2020
Dr. Anthony Fauci to Deliver Keynote Address
at Virtual Fast-Track Cities 2020 Conference
Fauci Medina
The global COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on urban HIV, TB, and HCV responses will take center stage at the second annual Fast-Track Cities conference, which will be held in a virtual format with a live program on September 9-10, 2020, following a day of pre-recorded plenaries available starting September 8, 2020.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) will deliver the conference’s Keynote Address on September 9, 2020, entitled, "COVID-19: Public Health and Scientific Challenges."

Dr. Fauci's remarks will follow a High-Level Panel, moderated by Lisbon Mayor Fernando Medina, that will invite Mayors from various Fast-Track Cities that have been heavily affected by COVID-19 to discuss the challenges of confronting transnational public health crises in urban settings.

Cross-cutting Plenaries will follow the Keynote Address, covering the following topics:

  • Confronting the COVID-19 "Infodemic" as a Public Health Threat
  • Ethnic, Gender, and Racial Disparities Exacerbating COVID-19
  • Addressing the Fragility in Urban HIV and TB Responses Revealed by COVID-19
  • Facilitating Continuity of Urban HIV and TB Services in the Context of COVID-19

In addition to the four plenaries, the live program will also feature case studies from 20 Fast-Track Cities to illustrate local COVID-19 data trends, discuss disruptions in access to HIV and other health services, and review innovations to maintain the continuity of care for people living with HIV, and new insights about pandemic preparedness.

The conference's Closing Panel will feature global public health leaders addressing the importance of implementing mitigation strategies to protect hard won gains in HIV, TB, and HCV responses. The panelists will include representatives from the Global Fund to End AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; International Treatment Preparedness Network (ITPC); US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), UNITE, and World Health Organization (WHO).

The pre-recorded plenaries are divided into six categories, including Clinical/Research Management, Key Populations, Stigma Mitigation, Service Delivery, Disease-Specific (HIV, TB, HCV), and Sponsored Symposia.

Registration is free-of-charge. Visit the conference website, where you can access conference program and confirmed speakers, as well as register online.

The Virtual Fast-Track Cities 2020 conference is hosted by IAPAC, UNAIDS, and the Fast-Track Cities Institute, and sponsored by Gilead Sciences and ViiV Healthcare.
"Is HIV Sorted?" Special Podcast Episode
A special episode of the Fast-Track Cities podcast series explores the results of the "Is HIV Sorted?" survey of more than 24,000 HIV-negative adults across Europe to gauge HIV literacy and perceptions about people living with HIV.

Supported by Gilead Sciences, the special episode features clinicians, public health officials, and community leaders from six Fast-Track Cities (Amsterdam, Berlin, Kyiv, London, Madrid, and Paris) to contextualize the survey data.
IAPAC Coordinates COVID-19 Webinars for Fast-Track Cities

Helen Olowofeso, IAPAC's City Program Officer in Lagos, Nigeria, hosted a webinar on July 29, 2020, focused on maintaining a continuity of HIV services in the context of COVID-19. Similar IAPAC webinars are taking place in Fast-Track Cities around the world through support from the Fast-Track Cities Institute.

In addition to 45 other local participants, the webinar was joined by Dr. Rotimi Agbolagorite, Director of Disease Control for Nigeria's Ministry of Health; Dr. Yeside Shogbamimu, the State AIDS Program Coordinator; Dr. Monsurat Adeleke, CEO of the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency; and Dr. Olusegun Ogboye.
Fast-Track Cities Seeks Alignment with US EHE Plans
Dashiell Sears, IAPAC's Regional Director for Fast-Track Cities in North America, and Venton Hill-Jones, IAPAC's Senior Director of Government Affairs, recently convened a series of virtual implementation planning trainings to promote alignment between city/county Fast-Track Cities plans and county/state plans in development as part of the US Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) strategy.

In addition to virtual trainings held this month in Dallas and Houston, Texas, and Columbia and Charleston, SC, IAPAC is coordinating similar trainings in priority jurisdictions identified in the EHE strategy as critical to ending the US HIV epidemic. The series of virtual trainings is made possible through support from ViiV Healthcare.
UNITE, IAPAC to Bridge National-Urban Health Agendas
IAPAC President/CEO Dr. José M. Zuniga will deliver a Keynote Address at the UNITE Global Summit on September 8, 2020. He will focus on bridging the gap between urban and global responses to emergent public health threats.

In a show of solidarity to bridge national and urban health agendas, UNITE Founder and President Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite will speak to the importance of pandemic preparedness during the IAPAC Virtual Fast-Track Cities 2020 conference's closing panel on September 10, 2020.
IAPAC Welcomes New Staff

IAPAC welcomes Dr. Yolanda Manuel as the new Regional Director for Fast-Track Cities in Eastern/Southern Africa. Based in Maputo City, Mozambique, she was previously IAPAC’s City Program Officer for Maputo City as part of the joint UNAIDS-IAPAC Fast-Track Cities Project, funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Prior to joining IAPAC, Dr. Manuel served a the Councilor for Health and Social Affairs for the Maputo City Council, with a primary responsibility for municipal policy-making and planned processes regarding health priorities, notably related to HIV epidemic control.
JIAPAC Editor's Pick
Implementing Rapid Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy for Acute HIV Infection Within a Routine Testing and Linkage to Care Program in Chicago

The rapid initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a key component of the Fast-Track Cities approach to ending urban HIV epidemics. New research in the latest edition of the Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (JIAPAC) reviews the impact of rapid ART integration in Chicago, IL.
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