No man is an island, and no organisation can work alone. Working together, the organisations that serve the HIV community can better develop creative solutions to the problems and fill in the gaps in service delivery.

We can ensure that people living with and affected by HIV get the support they need, the platforms to get their voices heard, and access to reliable resources.

In 2020, HIV Scotland will host a brand-new biannual conference, Sex, Drugs & Scotland's Health. This conference will bring together the wider sector and people living with and affected by HIV and hepatitis C to highlight emerging policy issues, share research, and celebrate our successes. The conference will put people at risk, living with, or affected by HIV in the room with clinicians, politicians, other third sector organisations, and researchers.

This conference will create opportunities for:

• Building a unified approach to tackling HIV in Scotland.
• Influencing policy makers.
• Sharing best practices and celebrating achievements between the third sector, health services, academia, and beyond.

Alongside this exciting new conference, we'll be working to:

• Promote an inclusive environment where ideas thrive.
• Bolster great working relationships within and outwith the HIV sector, bringing together the third sector, clinicians, researchers, and others.
• Connect people living with and affected by HIV with parliamentarians through the Scottish Parliament's Cross Party Group on Sexual Health & Blood Borne Viruses.
• Identify gaps in services, care, and support, and bring service delivery partners together to ensure no one is left behind.
• Encourage critical discussions about the challenges of HIV.
• Look abroad for international best practices.
• Share our successes with the international community.

An effective organisation is a collaborative one. Let's get to work!