HELINA 2003 Conference (HELth INformatics in Africa)
----------------------------------------------------

Information and Communication Technology in the Fight against HIV/
AIDS in Africa

13 to 15 October 2003
Johannesburg, South Africa

The International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) will convene
the HELINA 2003, the fourth HELINA conference in South Africa from 13
to 15 October 2003, focused on communication and information tech-
nologies (ICT) in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. The Interna-
tional Medical Informatics Association and the South African Health
Informatics Association will organize the conference, in partnership
with Harvard Medical International (HMI) and the National Library of
Medicine (NLM) in the United States, the South African Medical Re-
search Council (MRC), and the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion (CDC) in the United States. Additional partner organizations are
being sought for this exciting and challenging initiative, which
forms part of the drive by IMIA to stimulate the development of
Health Informatics activities in Africa.

The conference will bring together expert clinicians and researchers
in HIV/AIDS together with regional and international experts in
health informatics in a unique forum. The goal of this meeting is to
introduce all participants to the broad range of issues of mutual
concern facing those who develop and manage HIV/AIDS interventions,
and the potential for information and communication technologies to
further these aims.

The conference will have four tracks
* Clinical Care,
* Public Health Infrastructure,
* Public Policy and
* Research, including Clinical Trials.

African and other international experts in HIV/AIDS, in Health Infor-
matics, and in care delivery, economics, politics, ethics and cul-
tural issues as they relate specifically to Africa will be invited to
give in depth presentations.

The proceedings of the conference will be published in a peer-
reviewed publication indexed in MEDLINE and available online via
ScienceDirect.

Venue:
Sandton Convention Centre, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Membership of Organizing Committee
Dr Sedick Isaacs, SAHIA Chair
Dr Charles Safran, IMIA Co-Chair
Representatives of IMIA, SAHIA, MRC, NLM, and other partner organisa-
tions.

Membership of Scientific Program Committee
Dr David Rind, Harvard Medical School Chair
Representatives of partner organisations and invited experts in
HIV/AIDS and Health Informatics.

Call for papers
A call for papers will be issued early in 2003.

For more information contact:
Dr. Charles Safran
IMIA Vice President for Special Affairs
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School
and Chief Executive Officer, Clinical Support Technology, Newton, MA.
Tel.: +1-617-614-2600 x123.
mailto:[email protected]

OR

Dr Sedick Isaacs
President, South African Health Informatics Association (SAHIA)
Department of Medical Informatics
Groote Schuur Hospital, Observatory, Western Cape
South Africa
Tel.:+27-21-404-2058
mailto:[email protected]

------------
Lyn Hanmer
Health Informatics R&D Co-ordination Programme (HIRD)
Medical Research Council
PO Box 19070
Tygerberg
7505
South Africa

Tel +27 21 938 0343
Fax +27 21 938 0315

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