More than 5,000 people gathered in Cape Town, South Africa last month for the fifth International AIDS Society (IAS) conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention.
Some of the world’s leading scientists, clinicians, public health experts and community leaders attended the biannual event to examine the latest research developments and discuss progress in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.
Before the opening session, a march organised by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) of South Africa wound its way through the streets of Cape Town to the city’s Convention Centre, with hundreds of people wearing red t-shirts bearing the words ‘HIV Positive’.
Inside the Convention Centre, the opening session of the conference heard from several speakers, including the South African Health Minister and Deputy President.
‘HIV and AIDS is indeed a challenge that has distinguished the last two decades of the last century and unless we redouble our efforts to conquer this disease, it will continue to define the 21st century, as well as for sub-Saharan Africa in particular,’ said Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe, who is also Chairperson of the South African AIDS Council.
He added that only half of the people in South Africa in need of anti-retroviral medication were receiving it.
‘We need to increase testing, provide treatments as early as possible, decrease loss to follow-up and strengthen drug supply management.
‘This is a challenge we must overcome as soon as humanly possible in order to produce a HIV and AIDS-free generation.’
The President of the IAS, Julio Montaner criticised the G8 summit for taking HIV off their priority agenda and for failing to renew commitments to universal access by 2011.
‘Cutting back on treatment programs during the recession will mean billions or even trillions of dollars in additional costs over the long term especially because of growing scientific evidence that anti-retroviral medicine for AIDS patients can be crucial in preventing the transmission of the virus,’ Dr Montaner said.
‘The silence of the G8 leaders is not just pathetic, it is criminal.’
The four-day conference included presentations, plenary panels and discussions on topics such as aging with HIV, pediatric treatment programs, post-exposure prophylaxis and prevention.
The next IAS Conference will be held in Rome from July 17-20, 2011.
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