We are thrilled to announce one of our CANFAR Research Grant recipients, Dr. Roula Hawa, will be joining us for our upcoming CANFAR2025 Conversation hosted by CANFAR National Ambassador, Justin Anantawan!
Join us for this chat hosted on our Instagram Live (@canfar1987) on Thursday April 15th at 2:00pm ET.
Our virtual talk series connects members within the CANFAR community, speaking to issues and initiatives involved with ending the HIV epidemic in Canada by the year 2025. Through each CANFAR2025 Conversation, our guests help deconstruct and apply the research, trends, and obstacles affecting the HIV/AIDS community across Canada.
For the month of April, CANFAR is recognizing world health and Dr. Hawa’s research provides excellent insight on how immigration and HIV can intersect within a Canadian landscape.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions are among the top two regions in the world with the fastest growing rates of HIV. With a constant influx of newcomer and refugee youth from the MENA region, many face unemployment, language barriers, limited social support systems, and cultural barriers which exacerbate their vulnerability to contracting HIV.
“As more and more MENA youth immigrate to Canada, there is an increased need to provide culturally competent HIV prevention interventions and resources. Our research seeks to identify key elements of an innovative, strength-focused, resilience-based, and youth-driven interventions that are effective in reducing HIV vulnerabilities and sexual health disparities among MENA youth, particularly gender and sexual minority youth”
Join our virtual talk Thursday April 15th at 2:00pm ET on CANFAR’s Instagram Live (@canfar1987) to find out why the lack of culturally-relevant HIV prevention resources creates a major gap in knowledge and how we can begin to address this issue through improving our cultural competence.
Watch the CANFAR2025 Conversation below.