Invitation to the Irish Aid Annual Professor Michael Kelly Lecture on HIV and AIDS

Irish Aid and the Irish Forum for Global Health, in collaboration with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, invite you to attend the 2015 Irish Aid Annual Professor Michael Kelly Lecture on HIV and AIDS. The lecture will take place at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, on Thursday 10th December, from 5.30-7pm, and will be followed by a reception. This year’s theme is: Keeping HIV on the Agenda: Women’s Unequal Equality.

Attendance is free, however please RSVP to [email protected] as soon as possible in order to reserve a place. The Flyer for the event is below, and please click the image to download a pdf version which can be circulated freely. Please also share this post with colleagues who may be interested.

Since 2006, Irish Aid has honoured Father Michael’s achievements through the Annual Professor Michael Kelly Lecture on HIV and AIDS, often timed to coincide with World AIDS Day (1st December). Please visit fathermichaelkellyzambia.org/ for more information. This year’s event features three speakers, who are longstanding contributors to the field of HIV prevention and education:

Professor Father Michael Kelly (via video from Zambia)
Born in Tullamore, Co. Offaly, Professor Father Michael Kelly has lived and worked in Zambia for over 50 years where he is now a citizen. He is an internationally-acclaimed speaker and advocate on HIV and AIDS, and has worked tirelessly to educate and promote safe behaviour among youth and those most at risk. To-date, Father Michael has authored a wealth of research articles and books, across interests including HIV, education, and human rights. Throughout his long and distinguished career, Father Michael has worked as a consultant to organisations such as the World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF, the FAO, UNAIDS, Oxfam, Irish Aid, and many more. Father Michael was also honoured by the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign and Trade for his work on HIV and AIDS, and he also recently received the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad in 2012.

Professor Sheila Dinotshe Tlou
Professor Sheila Dinotshe Tlou, from Botswana, is a Nursing Educator and specialist in HIV and AIDS, and women’s health. She is the United Nations Eminent Person for Women, Girls, and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa. Professor Tlou’s work encompasses the areas of gender justice and HIV and AIDS across the southern African region, with a particular focus on empowering women to negotiate safer sexual practices. In addition to working with grassroots organisations campaigning for improved AIDS awareness in Botswana, Professor Tlou has also campaigned to reduce HIV stigma. From 2004-2008, she was also Minister of Health for Botswana. Currently, Professor Tlou is the Director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa, providing leadership in the regional response to HIV and ensuring technical support to United Nations country teams in 21 countries across the region.

Sister Dr. Miriam Duggan
Sister Dr. Miriam Duggan is an Irish Obstetrician, who has spent much of her life working in Africa on issues of maternal health, and HIV and AIDS prevention and care. For thirty years, Sister Miriam worked at St. Francis’ Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, and when the AIDS crisis began to unfold in the late 1980s, she helped to establish clinics and mobile home-based care programmes for those living with HIV, as well as helping the orphans left by parents who had died due to AIDS. In order to help address the underlying causes of the spread of HIV, Sister Miriam founded the Youth Alive programme, which provides education around sexual behaviour, drugs, self-esteem, and constructive life choices for young people. The programme achieved great success in Uganda, and is has now been extended across 21 African Countries. Sister Miriam is currently working with Hands of Care & Hope in Nairobi, which supports those living in poverty, and women living with HIV. In recognition of her lifetime’s work, Sister Miriam is one of the 2015 recipients of the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad.