Honors Faculty Member Invited to Speak at Global HIV/AIDS Conference at The White House

Laurel Sprague is a senior lecturer of political science in the Irvin D. Reid Honors College at Wayne State University. Dr. Sprague has accepted an invitation to The White House to speak at a global conference on HIV/AIDS on March 3, 2016.

Dr. Sprague will speak at The White House conference "Translating Research into Action: Reducing HIV Stigma to Optimize HIV Outcomes" hosted by the Office of National AIDS Policy, in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of AIDS Research, National Institute of Mental Health, and community partners. Dr. Sprague's presentation is titled "Measuring HIV-Related Stigma and Monitoring Progress toward Stigma Reduction."

A number of frameworks aimed at addressing the global HIV epidemic, including our National HIV/AIDS Strategy, identify stigma and discrimination as barriers to successful implementation and uptake of HIV prevention, care and treatment. This conference will bring together the crucial stakeholders (researchers, program implementers, and community leaders) from around the world for a day-long discussion to identify barriers to success and determine a way forward.

On March 4, Dr. Sprague meet with HIV/AIDS researchers to advance the research agenda to measure, monitor and address HIV stigma and track the impact on HIV outcomes. This meeting is hosted by the NIH Office of AIDS Research, National Institute of Mental Health, and the Office of National AIDS Policy. In addition, the meeting will include a presentation and discussion by ONAP regarding their plans for an indicator to track HIV related stigma in response to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.

Laurel Sprague is a political theorist focused on the politics of civil society and international institutions. She researches the human rights and political agency of marginalized peoples and their involvement in national and global governance. Dr. Sprague currently serves as an NGO Delegate for North America, Programme Coordinating Board, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.