Imporant AIDS Research Meeting at NIH on April 19
It may seem like a fairy tale, but once upon a time much of the NIH's work related to HIV research was open to public scrutiny and involvement.
One of the most important HIV panels under the control of the NIH, the Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adult and Adolescents, which issues official government recommendations for people with HIV and AIDS and their doctor on how best to avoid contracting opportunistic infections and stay alive, adamantly refuses to allow PWAs or other members of the general public to attend their meetings. This panel also continues resisting my efforts to have their agendas and minutes released under FOIA and open to community sunshine.
But in a few weeks, one of the dwindling chances to publicly interact with the top NIH and National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases researchers and decision-makers will take place.
On April 19 there will be a one-day meeting of Office of AIDS Research in Rockville, MD, and I will be in attendance to both observe the proceedings, and speak as a person with AIDS who wants better treatment options.
If you're at all interested in AIDS treatment research and how it's conducted by the NIH and its many partners throughout the USA and around the globe, please join me at this very important meeting.
I believe 2007 must be the year in which more PWAs and AIDS activists not receiving Big Pharma money should demand more open meetings at NIH, release of the NIAID HIV treatment panel's agendas and minutes, along with opening their meetings to the public, and a renewed interest by everyone concerned with AIDS into NIH's research agenda.
Please make the effort to be at this meeting:
The next meeting of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council (OARAC) will be held Thursday, April 19, 2007. This one day meeting will be held at 5635 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852 in the Terrace Level Conference Center. The meeting will focus on HIV-Related Complications including Malignancies, Cardiovascular Disease, and Metabolic Complications. An update will be provided on the OARAC Working Groups for Treatment and Prevention Guidelines. Time will be allowed for public comment at the end of the meeting. For additional information, contact Christina Brackna at (301) 402-8655.
And click here for much more information about OARAC, such as its purpose and mandate, members of the council and agendas and minutes from previous meetings.