The annual United States Conference on AIDS (#2019USCA) takes place September 5 through 8 in Washington, DC. This year’s event, the largest ever, features over 160 workshops and four major plenary sessions.

Organized by NMAC, formerly the National Minority Council on AIDS, the event gathers advocates, health officials, government leaders, people with HIV and allies from around the country for conferences, workshops, roundtables, exhibition booths, presentations, networking events, movies, protests, dinners and even a ball. It is everything.

Special POZ issue for #2019USCA

This year’s conference focuses on the structure, implementation and feasibility of Trump’s federal initiative “Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America.” For more about that aspect of USCA, read this POZ article.

Guest speakers from the federal government will include Robert Redfield, MD, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Anthony Fauci, MD, the director of NIAID; George Sigounas, the director of the Health Resources & Services Administration; and Rear Admiral Michael D. Weahkee, the principal deputy director of the Indian Health Service.

And Dominique Jackson, who plays Mother Elektra on the FX hit Pose, promises she will be serving Ending the Epidemics realness at USCA, notably at the Special Exhibition Ball.

If you’re able to visit the exhibition hall, stop by and say hi to POZ at booth 200. What’s more, a special edition of our September issue includes an interview with NMAC executive director Paul Kawata, who is marking 30 years with the organization. You can read that Q&A here.

On its Welcome to USCA web page, NMAC echoes Redfield’s call for “disruptive innovation” in health care and efforts to end HIV, meaning that we need to do things differently. On the page, you can also learn about USCA’s cultural offerings and whom to contact if Hurricane Dorian has interrupted your travel plans.

The theme of #2019USCA is “Ending the Epidemics in Their Memory.”

For more articles about the conference, click #USCHA or visit 2019usca.org.