Within the last decade in general, and the last couple of years in particular, there is a nascent movement within the research community - one that questions where research conferences are held, and who gets to participate. This is particularly true in global and public health, and development related conferences that are built on global research networks and partnerships. While a substantial amount of work presented at these conferences is done in low and middle income countries, the venues are largely in high income countries that often deny visas to researchers from poorer countries. Within the last couple of years, this issue has become particularly acute as visa policies in the US, Canada and Europe have become increasingly stringent and visa delays have become routine. Conference participants are asking the obvious question - how can we talk about HIV in Africa, if African researchers are denied entry to the conference?

Addressing this issue, a number of countries have tried to fill the gap and have started........

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