HIV Prevention Confab Hits Atlanta

This week Atlanta is the scene for the only HIV/AIDS conference dedicated exclusively to prevention efforts. More than 2,000 AIDS educators, researchers and doctors are expected at the meeting, which continues through Wednesday.

"This meeting is so important because it really provides an opportunity for all the individuals involved in the prevention field to come together and learn from one another," said Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, deputy director of the National Center for HIV, STD & TB Prevention at the CDC. The CDC is one of 20 sponsors of the conference, which is held every other year. While the majority of attendees will be from the United States, participation by international representatives will allow AIDS educators to learn about prevention methods being used in other countries.

"The importance for us is that we learn what the best practices are," said Bob Ford, volunteer services manager at AID Atlanta, one of the city's largest AIDS groups. "We can get better ideas to change our programs and enhance the programs that we presently have. We are able to build community with people here in Atlanta as well as across the country." Anthony McWilliams, the agency's prevention programs manager, said the conference "really gives an opportunity to bring together gay and bisexual men with heterosexuals to talk about homophobia . . . and the different sexualities to address how these issues actually relate to the transmission of HIV, especially in the African-American community."

Ford said the prevention message has changed since AIDS was first diagnosed 20 years ago. "In the early '80s, the initial campaigns were very sex-negative. Today, campaigns are much more sex-positive, offering people as many choices as possible, trying to get people to make changes that are healthy and viable and reduce the risk of HIV transmission."

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