UNAIDS Honors Palestinian Substance Abuse Research Center for Efforts To Address HIV and Drug Use
September 1, 2010
Mr. Hasan Aamoudi (left), chair, and Dr. Mohammed F. Al-Afifi, director of the Palestinian Substance
Abuse Research Center, accept the UNAIDS Red Ribbon Award from Ms. Emily Blitz, International
AIDS Society.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) presented its prestigious Red Ribbon Award to the Substance Abuse Research Center (SARC-AMAN) – Palestine. UNAIDS presents the Red Ribbon Awards at the biennial International AIDS Conference to recognize outstanding community organizations for their innovation and leadership in responding to the AIDS epidemic. The UNAIDS citation called SARC-AMAN “the first organization in Gaza to tackle issues of drug use and HIV, including stigma and misconceptions associated with these issues, in student and refugee populations.” In addition to research in drug abuse and HIV/AIDS, the center also provides family counseling services; runs prevention programs for tobacco, drug use, and sexually transmitted infections; maintains a drug use monitoring system; conducts community awareness and outreach activities; and trains outreach workers, counselors, and researchers. Mohammed F. Al-Afifi, M.D., M.Sc., directs the center and has partnered with NIDA grantees and scientists in Egypt, Israel, and the United States for more than a decade on drug abuse research. Since 2003, SARC-AMAN and Dr. Al-Afifi have participated regularly in the NIDA International Forum, presenting numerous studies jointly with his research partners. Dr. Al-Afifi’s research also has been supported by the World Health Organization, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the U.S. Agency for International Development Middle East Regional Cooperation Program, and STOP AIDS NOW! in The Netherlands.
Important Dates
NIDA International Forum
June 14–17, 2013
Online Registration Deadline:
May 6, 2013
FELLOWSHIPS
IAS/NIDA Fellowships
Application Deadline:
February 10, 2013
NIDA International Program Fellowships
Application Deadline:
April 1, 2013
Global Health Program for Fellows and Scholars
Application Deadlines: Vary
GRANTS
Brain Disorders in the Developing World: Research Across the Lifespan
(Non-AIDS)
R01 PAR-11-030and R21 PAR-11-031
Application deadline:
February 14, 2013
MEETINGS
American Association for the Advancement of Science
February 14–18, 2013
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
International Drug Abuse Research Society (IDARS)
April 15–19, 2013
Mexico City, Mexico
2013 International Conference on Global Health: Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse and HIV
April 17–19, 2013
Taipei, Taiwan
Yih-Ing Hser, Ph.D.