Symposia 1 - Growing the HIV Prevention Toolkit: Models for Effective Prevention Scale up in Fiji, PNG and the Pacific
Tracks
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| Monday, August 17, 2026 |
| 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM |
| Orchid |
Details
By the end of the session, participants are expected to:
- Gain improved understanding of current HIV prevention priorities and implementation experiences in the Pacific region.
- Learn from practical country examples and community-led prevention innovations.
- Identify key barriers and enabling factors for prevention scale-up.
- Strengthen collaboration and networking among prevention stakeholders across the region.
- Generate actionable recommendations for improving HIV prevention policies and programming.
- Access practical prevention resources, IEC materials, and online tools shared during the symposium.
The Prevention Symposia Session aims to:
1. Showcase innovative and evidence-based HIV prevention approaches and implementation experiences from the Pacific region.
2. Promote practical learning on person-centred and combination prevention strategies, including PrEP, community-led prevention, HIV testing expansion, harm reduction approaches, and integration within SRH services.
3. Facilitate dialogue on challenges and opportunities related to prevention programming in rural areas, island, and key population settings.
4. Encourage regional collaboration and knowledge exchange among governments, communities, civil society, and development partners.
5. Highlight the critical role of key populations and community-led organizations in designing, delivering, monitoring, and scaling up HIV prevention services across the Pacific.
6. Identify practical recommendations and take-home solutions to strengthen HIV prevention responses across the Pacific.
Speaker
Mr. Asaeli Sinusetaki
Fiji Rainbow Pride Foundation
Redefining the Role of Peer Outreach in Fiji’s HIV Response: Development of Peer-Led HIV Outreach Guidelines
Asaeli Sinusetaki is the Interim CEO of the Rainbow Pride Foundation (RPF) in Fiji. He has been actively involved in advocating for LGBTQI+ rights and has led initiatives to establish community hubs that support LGBTQI+ individuals and amplify their voices.
Jayke Meki
Youthlead Png Focal Person
KPAC PNG
Youth Led community outreach sexual health promotion, testing and PrEP commencement in PNG
Jayke Meki is President of Youth Lead Rise PNG and a Board Member of Key Populations Advocacy Consortium (KPAC). He is a youth leader and advocate focused on peer-led outreach, strengthening youth engagement, and improving access to HIV prevention, testing, and care services for young people in PNG.
Philips Loh
Senior Technical And Program Advisor
Health Equity Matters
From Rollout to Retention: Lessons from PrEP Implementation under the SKPA-2 Multi-Country HIV Program in Asia
Philips Loh is a Senior Program and Technical Advisor at Health Equity Matters, with a focus on HIV prevention and community-led responses. His work supports the design and implementation of prevention programs for key populations across Asia-Pacific, including technical assistance on PrEP, peer outreach, and community systems strengthening.
Dr Caroline van Gemert-Doyle
Senior Research Fellow/Deputy Director - Disease Elimination Program
Burnet Institute
PRE- EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT IN THE PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES OF KIRIBATI, REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS, SAMOA, TONGA, AND VANUATU
Caroline is a global health epidemiologist and Deputy Director of Burnet Institute's Disease Elimination Program. She has worked in the Pacific for almost 20 years and leads HIV surveillance, policy development, and program strengthening initiatives across multiple Pacific Island countries. Her work focuses on HIV prevention, elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B, and strengthening country-led disease elimination programs.
Pacific HIV Symposium
Interactive Prevention Discussion: Key Prevention Data in the Pacific
Dr Khin Cho Win Htin
Regional Adviser – HIV Prevention
UNAIDS
Global HIV Prevention Frameworks and the Pacific Context: Gaps and Priorities
Dr. Khin Cho Win Htin is the Regional HIV Prevention Adviser at UNAIDS Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, based in Bangkok, with 19 years of international experience in HIV service delivery, strategic information, public health research, and evidence-based advocacy. She has worked across projects, country, and regional levels to strengthen data use, programme coordination, and advocacy in support of more effective and equitable HIV responses across Asia and the Pacific. First trained as a medical doctor, she also holds a Master’s degree in Population and Reproductive Health Research and brings strong expertise in applying data and innovation to enhance the design, delivery, and impact of HIV programmes.
Ms. Rena Janamnuaysook
Director, Implementation Research and Innovation
Institute of HIV Research and Innovation
Panelist: Key Prevention Data in the Pacific
Director of Implementation Research and Innovation, Tangerine Clinic, Institute of HIV Research and Innovation (IHRI), Thailand. Rena is Director of Implementation Research and Innovation at the Institute of HIV Research and Innovation in Thailand. A leader in transgender health and HIV implementation science, she co-founded Tangerine Clinic, Asia's first transgender-led integrated gender-affirming and sexual health clinic and is internationally recognized for advancing community-led HIV prevention and health equity.
Cathy Ketepa
Friends Frangipani / KPAC
Panelist: Key Prevention Data in the Pacific
Cathy Ketepa is Chair of Key Populations Advocacy Consortium PNG Inc (KPAC PNG) and National Coordinator for Friends Frangipani. She champions the rights and wellbeing of sex workers, providing strategic leadership to strengthen community-led HIV and TB responses while ensuring community voices are represented in national health systems and decision-making.
Dr Sian McGowan
Medical Officer
SRH/HIV Unit, Lautoka
Panelist: Key Prevention Data in the Pacific
Dr McGowan is a Medical Officer at the Lautoka SRH and HIV Hub in Fiji. She works on the frontline of HIV testing, prevention, treatment, and integrated sexual and reproductive health services, with a particular focus on PrEP and client care.
Rusiate Naulunimagiti
FJN+
Panelist: Key Prevention Data in the Pacific
Peer Counselling Manager, Fiji Network for Positive People (FJN+), Fiji. Rusiate is an Indigenous iTaukei human rights defender and peer educator from Fiji. Drawing on lived experience, Rusiate advocates for the rights and inclusion of people living with HIV and other marginalized communities, with a focus on community-led approaches, equity, and social justice.
Associate Professor Iryna Zablotska-Manos
Associate Professor, Program Director
Postgraduate Program in Sexual and Reproductive Health, Sydney Medical School, University Of Sydney
Discussion Facilitator: Key Prevention Data in the Pacific
Pacific HIV Symposium
Panel Discussion and Audience Engagement: Making Prevention Work: Lessons, Gaps and the Way Forward
Session Chair
Loata Tucika
CEO
Pacific Sexual and Gender Diversity Network (PSGDN)
