Ending Inequalities, Ending AIDS, and Preventing New Pandemics in the Americas

The Institute on Inequalities in Global Health, in partnership with the University of Southern California and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, invite you to this virtual side event in the context of the IX Summit of the Americas (Los Angeles, June 8–10, 2022). This side event aims to catalyze action to address the underlying inequalities that have fueled the AIDS pandemic, generate disparities in access to COVID-19 vaccines, and leave countries ill-prepared for future pandemics. Policymakers, academia and civil society actors will join to highlight the interlinkages between inequalities and pandemics, identify challenges and opportunities to reduce them, and provide recommendations for action based on available evidence and promising practices. The panel will explore ways to place human rights and eliminating inequalities at the forefront of regional and global health agendas to address current and future pandemics in the Americas. Speakers will include:

• Peter Figueroa — Professor, The University of the West Indies, former head of the Jamaican HIV/STI Program (1986–2008); Chair, PAHO Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Immunization; Co-Chair, WHO SAGE Working Group on Polio; Member, WHO Working Group on COVID-19 vaccines (Jamaica)
• Amaranta Gomez — Regional Secretary, International Secretariat for Indigenous Peoples, HIV, Sexuality, and Human Rights (Mexico)
• Victoria Donda — President, National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Racism (Argentina)
• Maria Clara Gianna — Director, Sao Paulo State HIV program; responsible for state COVID-19 response (Brazil)
• Luisa Cabal — Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, UNAIDS (Colombia)
• Oscar Mujica — Adviser, Department of Evidence and Intelligence for Action in Health, PAHO