Emerging Infectious Diseases 20-year Timeline, ICWID

In November 2004 Emerging Infectious Diseases published a ground-breaking special issue on The International Conference on Women and Infectious Diseases

Guest Editor for the issue, Dr. Marian McDonald, who serves as Associate Director for Minority and Women’s Health at CDC, says that the “The International Conference on Women and Infectious Diseases (ICWID) took place February 27–28, 2004 in Atlanta, Georgia.  Co-sponsored by CDC, World Health Organization, and the American Society for Microbiology, and led by CDC’s Office of Minority and Women’s Health, ICWID was an historic event in international women’s health. ICWID was the first international conference on infectious diseases in women that went beyond standard reproductive issues and explored a range of social determinants of infectious diseases in women.  For example, the conference included sessions on Infectious Disease and Gender; Infectious Diseases and Sexual Coercion; Refugees, Forced Displacement, and War; Stigma; and Women and Water.  Supported in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ICWID included a Scholars Program that enabled women from resource-limited countries to attend the conference.

Key links in the November 2004 EID issue on ICWID include:

International Conference on Women and Infectious Diseases, Atlanta, Georgia, February 27–28, 2004 M. McDonald et al.;

Women and Infectious Diseases J. L. Gerberding;

Steps for Preventing Infectious Diseases in Women M. R. Periago et al.;

Infectious Diseases and Sexual Coercion C. M. Beck-Sague et al.; and

Women, Water Management, and Health S. Watts.