Welcoming a New Co-Chair – Catherine Connor

The Coalition for Children Affected by AIDS (the Coalition) welcomes Catherine Connor, Vice President, Public Policy and Advocacy at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation as our new Co-Chair. Catherine will work alongside fellow Co-Chair Luann Hatane, Executive Director of PATA, to lead the Coalition’s Steering Committee. We are now 27 global thought-leaders from across the UN, NGO, donor and academic communities. And we welcome Catherine’s support and commitment in helping us embrace the challenges and opportunities ahead.

We are reminded daily of the innovation, resilience and tenacity shown by children, adolescents, families, practitioners, communities, donors, policy makers, governments and scientists – all of whom continue to forge ahead despite the constraints of COVID-19.

Innovation, such as that achieved by the Accelerate Hub team, who have identified the best combination of biomedical, social and economic support to enable adolescents to adhere to HIV treatment and excel in other areas of their lives.

Resilience, such as that shown by our young mother Ambassador, Miriam Hasasha, and her peers who set up a small business during the COVID-19 pandemic making and selling re-usable sanitary pads to help these young women feed, clothe and care for their young children.

And tenacity, such as that shown by Dr John Nkengasong of the African Centre for Disease Control in his tireless efforts to establish a dual response to COVID-19 and HIV.

You can read more about the innovation, resilience and tenacity shown as above in our Winter Newsletter. This newsletter sets out just some of their fantastic achievements as well as the opportunities 2022 holds for us all to push forward policy change for children and adolescents affected by HIV. The Coalition for Children Affected by AIDS is here to collaborate with and support you in this collective endeavour.