Title: Greetings from the Chair

Author:

Section/SPIG: HIV/AIDS

Issue Date:

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As I write this we are all fresh from the Washington Annual Meeting where the HIV/AIDS Section presented a stellar scientific program and where we enjoyed several opportunities to both conduct section business and socialize with our colleagues. During this annual meeting we learned that our Section remains among the fastest-growing of all APHA sections, and again many individuals stepped forward to volunteer their talents and skills.

I believe this growth and interest reflect the continuing challenges we face in responding to the HIV epidemic, nationally and internationally, and in providing access to prevention and care services. Among the challenges for us as a Section will be how to guide APHA in effectively advocating for these issues (especially as we face the reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act in 2005 and what appear to be several very lean upcoming federal budget cycles), how to effectively engage and communicate with the larger HIV community, and how to better integrate a larger number of volunteers into the work of the Section.

We are gearing up for an active 2005. Policy will be foremost on our agenda, under the capable leadership of Susan Fulmer as Policy Chair and Kathye Gorosh who continues as our Action Board representative and a member of the APHA Joint Policy Committee. Volunteers to provide input through the policy committee are always welcome. Planning for our 2005 scientific session is under way, lead by Scott Rhodes as Program Planning Chair. The call for papers will be issued in mid-December with a Feb. 11 due date, and we anticipate receiving over 400 abstracts. We are soliciting abstract reviewers to help us put together another outstanding program for New Orleans in 2005. In addition to the scientific program, Carlos Velazquez, our Social Chair, is hard at work thinking about ways we can socialize with our colleagues during the New Orleans meeting, while Titi Oladosu-Okoror, our International Workgroup Chair, dialogues with the International Health Section for ways of continuing our valuable collaboration with our friends in IH, and France Thuy Nguyen, our Student Representative, helps us identify ways we can more effectively involve our student members in our 2005 program and activities.

So, in addition to preparing your abstract, we hope Section members will visit our Web site at <http://www.aphahiv.org/> and give serious consideration to where they can make a contribution to the HIV/AIDS Section and to APHA. On our Web site you will find a list of committees and chairs. Please drop the chair a line to get involved. There is a lot of energy, enthusiasm, and excitement in our Section, and we hope that you will join us and share in it.