In advance of the 2008 International AIDS Conference, OSI convened a symposium to discuss legal, economic, advocacy, and treatment strategies for a more "woman-friendly" response to HIV. "Strategies for Change: Breaking Barriers to HIV Prevention, Treatment and Care for Women" drew attention to efforts to meet the needs of a broad range of women, including those who are marginalized and stigmatized, such as sex workers, drug users and women living with HIV, and to support their engagement in the development and implementation of the policies and programs that affect their lives.

Strategies for Change featured a series of panel discussions with HIV activists, women's advocates, and health experts.

Schedule

8:00 - 9:00
Breakfast

9:10 - 9:30
Welcome and Introduction

• Francoise Girard, Director, Public Health Program, Open Society Institute

9:30 - 11:00
Empowerment: For Women by Women

• Moderator: Claudia Ahumada, World AIDS Campaign
• Melissa Gira Grant, Desiree Alliance
• Siphiwe Hlophe, Swaziland for Positive Living
• Esther Mwaura-Muiru, GROOTS Kenya
• Sekar Wulan Sari, Stigma Foundation

11:00 - 11:30
Coffee Break

11:30 - 13:00
From Paper to Practice: Taking Back the Law

• Moderator: Jonathan Cohen, Law and Health Initiative, Open Society Institute
• Corinne Carey, Consultant, Open Society Institute
• Catherine Mumma, Kenya Ethical and Legal Issues Network on HIV/AIDS
• Sibongile Ndashe, INTERIGHTS
• Elena Reynaga, Argentine Association of Female Sex Workers

13:00 - 14:00
Lunch

14:00 - 15:30
It's Our Money: Making It, Tracking It, Spending It

• Moderator: Julia Greenberg, AIDS Free World
• Julia Kim, IMAGE Project, Rural AIDS and Development Action Research
• Martha Kwataine, Malawi Health Equity Network
• Gabriela Leite, Davida
• Patricia Ndhlovu, Zambia Rainbow Coalition

15:30 - 16:00
Coffee Break

16:00 - 17:30
Patience No More: Advancing Health Care for Women

• Moderator: Cynthia Eyakuze, Public Health Watch, Open Society Institute
• Cynthia Navarrete, Aproase
• Suzanne Maman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill / University of KwaZulu Natal
• Anna Shapoval, MAMA+

17:30 - 18:30
Reception