World AIDS Day - December 1st

In my first 6 weeks in Angola, I have been slowly getting a feel for the level of HIV/AIDS awareness and general commitment to HIV/AIDS issues in the country. While Angola is far behind most other African nations (due to the civil war that only ended in 2002, and the relatively low rate of HIV), the visibility of HIV in the press and in government circles is quite high right now. On November 30th I had the pleasure of attending the Angolan government’s 1st Conference on HIV/AIDS and STIs. I arrived just in time for the coffee break on the 1st day, with a mix of Angolans and expats alike wolfing down party sandwiches and glasses of juice. Everybody loves free food.


HIV/AIDS Conference

I spent the coffee break checking out the stalls (and yes, the food too) and talking to a few people I have already met working in the HIV/AIDS field in Angola. I ran into a girl I had met at the MAG (Mines Advisory Group) party the week before, and it turns out she works for the CDC doing HIV surveillance in Angola. Lesson learned: partying is good for my research!

I joined the next session on HIV/AIDS data from Angola, and though it was all in Portuguese, I managed to understand quite a bit. Admittedly, it was mainly because all the numbers were projected in a PowerPoint presentation. I ducked out during the next presentation and headed back to the office. I really need to improve my Portuguese to get the most out of my time here.