“I am the one who should thank
you and Mike and all the other contributors for putting your heart
and soul in the meeting. This was the one and only HIV/AIDS meeting
in Turkey with such great participation and motivation with a full
room in each presentation. In addition, the meeting seems
to have changed a lot in the treatment approach of some doctors
who once could not give up crixivan and now are recommending Truvada
and Stocrin. I can tell you that this is a real success story.”
Deniz Gökengin, Izmir, Turkey
HIV in South East Europe -
An HIV medical training for Turkish doctors
and patient advocates
24th and 25th September, Hotel Marmara, Istanbul,
Turkey
Doctor chairs: Drs Deniz Gökengin (Izmir) & Serhat Ünal (Ankara)
Patient advocate chairs: Arzu Kayki and Tekin Tutar (Pozitif Yaşam Derneği,
Istanbul), and Simon Collins (HIV i-Base, London)
training | programme | trainers | presentations | photos | report
The meeting was attended by over 100 Turkish infectious disease specialists and HIV patient advocates. The excellent turnout was a product of excellent support and cooperation amongst the meeting chairs, the funders and the meeting coordinators, Serenas Turizm Kongre Organizasyon.
The goal of the meeting was to share
important HIV treatment and diagnostic information
and practices with Turkish doctors and patient advocates
to ensure best quality care for people living with
HIV in Turkey.
The format of the meeting was lectures, case study
presentations and informal discussions. The training was in English
and Turkish. Registration was free.
A separate training track was developed for patient
advocates to further explore treatment issues in the context of
the wide range of issues facing people living with HIV including
stigma, testing, treatment literacy, patient empowerment, diagnostics
and care.
In addition informal meetings were held amongst
representatives of the leading Turkish lesbian and gay organisations
with HIVTRI and Turkey's leading HIV patient advocacy group, Pozitif
Yaşam
Derneği (Positive Living Association). HIVTRI also met with
PLA and a large number of their HIV positive members. Over 20 news
outlets participated in the meetings press conference and coverage
of the meeting was extensive throughout Turkey.
After the meeting
HIVTRI trainers and Turkish doctors met with a representative from
the Turkish Ministry of Health to explore options to speed the
time it takes to report resistance testing results to enhance diagnostic
prcatices in the country.
Thank you for the generous support from
Gilead Turkey, Merck and NEAT (the European AIDS Treatment Network).
Please
see the report for more details.
For more information contact
.
  NEAT
(European AIDS Treatment Network)
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