AIDS 2010 Conference Buzz: Day Four

Each day during AIDS 2010, we'll be following tweets, blog entries, and news stories coming out of the conference and posting a daily roundup of some of the most interesting news to hit the Web.

There were fewer big stories out of AIDS 2010 today, as everyone continued to follow up on CAPRISA. As the conference passed the halfway point, people began to sit back and reflect on the conference around them. Colleen Hanrahan wrote a series of tweets about the differences and similarities between AIDS 2010 ands AIDS 2008. The differences were positive, such as, "We have practical evidence that circumcision WORKS as prevention-- up to 60% effective at preventing infections in men," and "China is here, and I never saw much from them at AIDS2008-- looking for even more China at AIDS2012 in DC." On the other hand, the similarities mostly highlighted problems: "TB is not really on the agenda, and we KEEP talking about how to integrate TB and HIV programs without much success AIDS2010," and, "Microbicides replace male circumcision as the "how to implement" problem of AIDS2010." (The series begins here.)

Another twitter using conference-goer tweeted, "Wins & losses. Some fab presentations but way toooo many protests."

Blogger Sarah McCan wrote about the conference's theme of "Rights here, rights now," and responding to violence against women:

The theme of the XVIII International AIDS Conference, which is taking place this week here in Vienna is 'Rights Here, Right Now' and certainly women's rights are high on the agenda. One of the biggest issues in relation to women's rights violations, that of violence against women is a key area of discussion at the conference and in many of the sessions to date, there have been stark and challenging reminders of the need to put the issue of violence against women at the heart of the HIV and AIDS response.

The links between violence against women and HIV have been made clear in numerous WHO, UNIFEM and other studies over the past few years, with violence acting as both a cause and a consequence of HIV. It is well documented that fear of violence is for many women a huge barrier to seeking treatment or indeed adhering to treatment. We also know that a lack of economic autonomy education and decision making power often makes a woman more vulnerable to violence and HIV.

Kate Jongbloed also wrote about girls and HIV, and another powerful conference theme: youth leadership.

Instead, I'm going to start with HIV and girls. HIV is something that affects girls around the world in many ways -- in the 15 to 24 age group, girls are THREE TIMES more likely to be infected with HIV than their male counterparts. This week, I'll talk a bit about what makes girls more vulnerable, but first I want to talk about how HIV doesn't always mean disempowerment.

Yesterday I met a girl who has turned the situation that led her to become HIV-positive on its head: now she's a leader for the rights of youth living with HIV around the world.

Notable, Quotable ... In 140 Characters or Less

• "'Free Hugs' outside of AIDS2010 conference today. I got two. Made me really happy." -@tylepard
• "Prepping for poster duty at AIDS2010 - problem with writing a paper over a year ago = nothing is fresh in my head." -@markdaku

Photo Roundup

• Who's Better on AIDS? This picture is ubiquitous at the conference. By James Fraser
• Fascinating contrast! Here's the AIDS2010 rally for human rights -- and here's a Nazi rally at the same square, many years ago. (By Aram Barra)
• Star Whore III event poster -- Mark S. King's blog will cover this later today! Photo from @GlobalSexWork.
• A group of conference delegates, some of the 800 attending AIDS2010 on scholarship.

If you're tweeting about AIDS 2010 and want TheBody.com to follow you, send us an @reply. And of course, don't forget to follow TheBody.com on Twitter as we update with conference coverage!