Open Society Foundations: How an AIDS Conference Sidelined an At-Risk Population
Shaun Shelly, advocacy and psychosocial coordinator at the TB/HIV Care Association, says there is a lack of visibility and support for drug users at the International AIDS Conference, writing, “Advocates for the health and human rights of people who use drugs have come to rely on HIV funding to do their work. … [S]ince drug users are only visible through the lens of HIV prevention, it is very concerning that the world’s biggest gathering of HIV scientists, policymakers, health professionals, and activists has kept drug users, and even the narrowest definition of harm reduction, out of the main proceedings…” (7/19).