For more information on this session, including access to speaker presentations, please see the conference Programme-at-a-Glance.

Globally, women bear a disproportionate burden in the HIV pandemic. Prevention, care and treatment have often been fragmented, with the greatest attention directed at women’s maternal role and prevention of mother-to-child transmission. Directed at clinicians, scientists and programme managers interested in HIV in women, this symposia session will address key topics in the continuum of HIV infection in women throughout the lifespan (excluding fertility and pregnancy which are addressed in other sessions). The learning objectives are for attendees to: (1) appreciate the challenges faced by adolescent women in preventing HIV acquisition and accessing care once infected; (2) acquire knowledge of the epidemiology and impact associated with malignancies, both AIDS-related and “non-AIDS”-related, in HIV-infected women; (3) understand the complexity of the intersection of chronic HIV infection, long-term antiretroviral drug exposure, chronic inflammation and their possible effects on premature aging, bone density, frailty, and cardiovascular disease; and (4) comprehend what living with HIV is truly like as seen through the eyes of a woman experiencing the challenge first-hand.

Introduction

Adolescent Women and HIV

• Linda-Gail Bekker, South Africa

Cancer, HIV and Women

• Dr. Elizabeth Stringer, Zambia

Aging, HIV and Women

• Kathryn Anastos, United States

Perspectives from an HIV-Positive Woman

• Siphiwe Hlophe, Swaziland

Questions and answers

Conclusion

Event Date

Jul 26, 2012