Coventry University is to host a major one-day conference examining the impact of AIDS and HIV in the developing world - featuring an address from a renowned academic in the field - Professor John Caldwell of the Australian National University.

The conference, ‘HIV/AIDS and the Implications for Development: Current Position and Future Trends in the Third World’, takes place at the University’s TechnoCentre on Wednesday, 19 May. It is open to the public and is organised by Dr Hazel Barrett of the University’s African Studies Centre and Dr Dale Dominey-Howes of the Coventry Centre for Disaster Management.

Those attending the conference will be welcomed by Professor Bob Pryce, the University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for research, and speakers will be present from the UN and the World Health Organisation (WHO). John Gordon from the Health and Population Section of the Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) will also speak on DFID’s policy and funding direction.

The keynote address, ‘AIDS in Africa and Asia: The Social and Behavioural Context’, will be delivered by Professor John Caldwell of the Australian National University. Professor Caldwell is a globally respected authority on AIDS in Africa and Asia and is currently conducting research into AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa and Bangladesh.

Commenting on the conference Dr Barrett said:

"The idea for the conference arose out of research conducted by myself and a colleague, Dr Angela Browne, on the impact of AIDS in Zambia. There is a real need to bring together academics and policy makers to examine the future strategy for research and policy in relation to the impact of AIDS.

"We are honoured to have Professor Caldwell as our keynote speaker, who is acknowledged as one of the leading social scientists in the world working in the area of AIDS and HIV. We very much hope that this conference can help push the issue of AIDS in the Third World to the top of the agenda of policy makers in the developed world", concludes Dr Barrett.