The Regional Community Treatment Observatory in West Africa (RCTO-WA) had a strong presence at the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire on  4-9 December 2017.

Four abstracts submitted by national partners were accepted and presented. ITPC hosted two satellite sessions (on domestic financing and differentiated service delivery), as well as the Global Treatment Networking Zone, where we facilitated twice daily community dialogues around community monitoring and intellectual property. ITPC and RCTO-WA representatives also participated as expert panelists on sessions hosted by UNAIDS, UNICEF, and WHO.

Participants gather at the Treatment Networking Zone to discuss community monitoring and how it empowers evidence-based advocacy. ITPC West Africa Regional Coordinator Raoul Boka Marius (top) facilitated the morning session.

Alain Manouan and Omar Ben Khatab Gueye from the RCTO-WA team joined UNICEF public radio to introduce the RCTO-WA to listeners (middle right) who were interested to hear that youth are one of the five specific populations that the project is collecting HIV prevention, care and treatment data on.

Led by ITPC MENA and RCTO-WA, activists action against ViiV Healthcare, whose voluntary license for dolutegravir (DTG) includes all countries in Africa except Algeria.

The actions and activities gained significant visibility far beyond the conference itself, with social media coverage reaching more than 27,000 impressions (persons reached) each day.