NAPWA

An important member of NAPWHA’s team, Peter Canavan, retired in November.

Peter has held a variety of positions with the organisation over many years; initially in a voluntary capacity as treatments spokesperson and NAPWHA President and then as a fulltime member of staff, most recently coordinating the Health, Treatments and Research Unit and then directing our programs in Papua New Guinea.

He has contributed much to NAPWHA’s work in health promotion, treatment advocacy and policy development and his insight will be missed by his many colleagues in the sector.

Here is what a few of them had to say...

Peter has been a remarkable contributor to the fight for the health, support and rights of Australian HIV positive people. He has been a long-time treatments activist and contributed much to educating people with HIV about health and treatment issues.

It has been a privilege to work with Peter and in wishing him well for the future we will miss him greatly.

- Bill Whittaker, NAPWHA special representative

Peter has the wonderful ability to really understand and to state the prevailing bigger picture issues, but at the same time he can make it so understandable and relevant for every person living with HIV.

I will miss Peter’s calm and wise approach very much. However, there is wonderful adventure ahead and I truly wish him a well deserved rest and much joy in his retirement.

- Dr Virginia Furner, Albion Street Centre

Peter has a unique way of thinking about the issues that emerge in qualitative research and his suggestions always spark off new ways of making sense of what our data might mean. He is consistently concerned with how conceptual ideas might relate to issues of service provision and education, and he is equally as excited about the value of a new research concept as he is about an idea that relates specifically to policy or practice.
We wish Peter all the best in his new adventures!

- Dr Christy Newman, National Centre in HIV Social Research

It's been a pleasure working with you over the years. My patients have really benefited from your strong, unrelenting advocacy.

- Dr Andrew Carr, St Vincent's Hospital

You have been so important to the sincere community response to HIV clinicalPertaining to or founded on observation and treatment of participants, as distinguished from theoretical or basic science. research. Your dedication and achievements are huge.

- Professor David A Cooper, National Centre in HIV EpidemiologyThe branch of medical science that deals with the study of incidence and distribution and control of a disease in a population. and Clinical Research

Peter Canavan has been one of those people you could describe as ‘the heart and soul’ of NAPWHA.
I will be hard to imagine the organisation without Peter, but we thank him for the great legacy he has left us with and wish him well for a much-deserved retirement.

- David Menadue, NAPWHA special representative

Thank you for everything, Peter.

And all the best.