News

Events

Below you’ll find up-to-date information about the IYCN Project’s participation in key conferences and events. Visit the United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition website for a comprehensive list of nutrition conferences.

 

XVIII International AIDS Conference

Vienna, Austria, July 18–23, 2010

The International AIDS Conference is the premier gathering for those working in the field of HIV, as well as policymakers, persons living with HIV, and other individuals committed to ending the pandemic.

Improving child health and HIV-free survival: A review of current research on risks and benefits of infant feeding options for HIV-positive moms

Monday, July 19, 2010, 9:00am–6:30pm, Hall B, Ground level

Altrena Mukuria (right) presents the poster to a conference delegate on Monday, July 19.

IYCN presented a poster on evidence concerning the effect of breastfeeding avoidance and early cessation on child mortality and HIV-free survival in developing countries.

International guidelines for HIV uninfected populations have recommended exclusive breastfeeding to six months with continued breastfeeding to two years. Yet over the past ten years, many HIV-positive mothers have avoided breastfeeding or shortened their usual duration. While avoidance and early cessation of breastfeeding reduce HIV transmission, programmatic and clinical trial evidence suggests that they also increase child morbidity and mortality, thus providing no net benefit for HIV-free survival.

Download a handout of the poster.

Safer feeding for HIV-exposed children: How to integrate infant feeding into community-based HIV prevention activities

Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 2:30–6:00pm, Mini Room 10

Delegates discus their experiences with infant feeding and HIV.

During this skills-building workshop, IYCN led group discussions, demonstrations, and role plays to help participants understand how to support HIV-positive mothers to practice safer infant feeding to prevent malnutrition and improve HIV-free survival of their children. The workshop focused on integrating infant feeding promotion into community-based HIV prevention activities.

Activities and participatory discussions covered myths about breastfeeding within the context of HIV, advantages of exclusive breastfeeding, and how to overcome common breastfeeding challenges. Facilitators provided helpful resources and accurate messages, and participants planned how to integrate infant feeding support into their own programs.

Infant Feeding and HIV: New opportunities to prevent pediatric HIV and improve child survival

Thursday, July 22, 2010, 6:30–8:30pm, Mini Room 10

IYCN co-hosted this satellite session together with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, mothers2mothers, PATH, and the World Health Organization. The session reviewed the latest WHO guidelines on infant feeding and HIV announced in November 2009. Presenters reviewed the evidence that informed the new guidance and explored how the guidance presents new opportunities to prevent pediatric HIV and improve child survival.

Participants learned about tools that are available to support countries in changing national policies in light of the new guidelines and discussed specific country experiences in changing policies and implementing the new guidance in the field. The discussion was moderated by Laura Guay, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

Learn more about this session and download the presentations.

 

Learn more about IYCN and PATH's participation in AIDS 2010.

Visit the AIDS 2010 website to learn more about the conference.

Global Health Council’s 37th Annual International Conference

Washington, D.C., Monday, June 14, 2010, 5:30–7:30pm, Capitol Room

Maximizing Nutritional Benefits from Agricultural Interventions

IYCN presented a seminar on building positive nutritional impact into agriculture and food security interventions. The seminar highlighted key aspects of agricultural interventions that influence food security, and specific project elements that can help to maximize nutritional benefits.

Participants gained familiarity with new planning tools for adding nutritional objectives to agricultural initiatives, and for assessing pre-intervention, probable nutritional impact among vulnerable groups in order to avoid negative outcomes.

Read a summary of the session and download the PowerPoint presentation: Maximizing Nutritional Benefits from Agricultural Interventions.

Download an invitation to Maximizing Nutritional Benefits from Agriculture Interventions.

Visit the Global Health Council's website to learn more about the conference.

5th Breastfeeding and Feminism Symposium: Informing Public Health Approaches

Greensboro, North Carolina, March 20, 2010

The 5th Breastfeeding and Feminism Symposium sought to identify and analyze how public health approaches to breastfeeding might be informed by feminist insights.

Engaging men to increase support for optimal infant feeding in Western Kenya

IYCN presented a poster, authored by Stephanie Martin and Altrena Mukuria, IYCN, and Peter Maero, AIDS, Population, and Health Integrated Assistance (APHIA) II Western, about a pilot activity that aimed to integrate infant and young child nutrition into current community-level male involvement activities. IYCN and the APHIA II Western Program conducted an infant feeding and gender workshop with men’s group leaders in Western Kenya in August 2009. Workshop participants were selected from APHIA II Western’s existing men’s groups that have been formed to provide an opportunity for men who are living with HIV to educate, encourage, and support each other. These men’s groups are unique in Kenya, where women traditionally form support groups, but men do not.

Download a handout: Engaging Men to Increase Support for Optimal Infant Feeding in Western Kenya.

Visit the Center for Women’s Health and Wellness, UNC Greensboro to learn more about the conference.

Photos: Aurelio Ayala III, Philippe Blanc, PATH/Evelyn Hockstein