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AFAO regularly participates in international consultations and policy development relating to the impact of HIV on indigenous peoples.

5th International Policy Dialogue on HIV/AIDS and Indigenous Persons

AFAO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Project Officer Michael Costello attended the International Policy Dialogue on HIV/AIDS and Indigenous Peoples in Ottawa, Canada, October 21-23, 2009. The meeting was hosted by Health Canada, in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Through panel presentations, plenary discussion and break-out sessions, participants discussed the unique impact of HIV/AIDS on indigenous peoples, its relevance to global policy development, and explored ways forward in terms of research, policy and programme development. A broad range of perspectives were represented, with participants from New Zealand, Australia, North, Central and South America, from HIV/AIDS and indigenous peoples' communities/networks, and from both government and non-governmental organisations.

During the indigenous caucuses at the Dialogue, indigenous participants established and formally endorsed an International Indigenous Peoples Working Group on HIV/AIDS (IIWGHA).

Download the report: HIV/AIDS and Indigenous Peoples: Final Report of the 5th International Policy Dialogue (PDF 600KB)

International Indigenous Working Group on HIV/AIDS (IIWGHA)

Acting on the suggestion of the Indigenous Caucus of the Fifth International Policy Dialogue: International Indigenous Peoples and HIV/AIDS, a report was commissioned by Health Canada to synthesise and contextualize the work to date in regards to global indigenous peoples and HIV/AIDS. The purpose of this report was to inform domestic and international policy and practice on indigenous peoples and HIV/AIDS, and to inform the future and ongoing work of the International Indigenous Working Group on HIV/AIDS (IIWGHA).

Download the report: Indigenous peoples & HIV/AIDS: Policy and practice implications of work to date (PDF, 244 KB)

IIWGHA launch in Vienna

The International Indigenous Working Group on HIV/AIDS (IIWGHA) will be officially launched at the World AIDS Conference in Vienna, 17 July, 2010. Download launch invitation

For more information on the IIWGHA, please contact:

Michael Costello: mcostello@afao.org.au

Last updated 25 June 2010