Robert Carr Memorial Lecture: Speech by Othman Mellouk AIDS 2012
29 Aug 2012
My name is Othman Mellouk. I have been an HIV activist in the Middle East/North Africa region since 1995. My work focuses on a range of issues, including treatment access, and advocacy for policy reform and implementation of HIV services for men who have sex with men (MSM). I serve as the Co-Chair of the Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF) and as the MENA regional coordinator to ITPC.
I know I only have time for brief comments, but I wanted to start with a personal note. I knew Robert well through our engagement with ITPC many years ago and during time working together as Co-Chairs at the MSMGF – an organization that he co-founded. Robert was kind, warm, incredibly smart, and one of the sharpest policy advocates I’ve known. My role on this panel today is a challenging one – to speak about issues of MSM, and how to get to “zero bullshit” – all in 10 minutes or less! This is exactly the kind of challenging policy task that Robert always did so well
