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The organizers of the XVII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2008) - to be held in Mexico City from 3-8 August 2008 - yesterday announced the participation of 17 plenary speakers, including leading HIV scientists, community leaders, practitioners and policy experts from across the globe. The speakers will kick-off each day of the conference at morning plenaries designed to explore critical issues and next steps in the global response to HIV. The theme of AIDS 2008 is Universal Action Now.
While underscoring the relevance of the theme: AIDS 2008 Co-Chair, DR. Pedro Cahn who is also the President of the International AIDS Society (IAS) said that, "AIDS 2008 is taking place at a unique moment in the epidemic, when there is widespread consensus on the need to ensure universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010," "What we now need is action on the part of all stakeholders, including continued investments in HIV research and a commitment to implementing evidence-based interventions." It is expected that over 25,000 participants will attend the AIDS 2008, the first International AIDS Conference ever to be held in Latin America. The conference is expected to increase awareness of the HIV/AIDS disease and its impact throughout the Latin America region. "Latin America and the Caribbean have shown tremendous leadership - from the production of low cost HIV treatments, to innovative prevention campaigns and high levels of access to care - but we still have challenges," said AIDS 2008 Co-Chair Dr. Luis Soto-Ramírez, Head of the Molecular Virology Unit at the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán and Coordinator of the Clinical Care Committee of CONASIDA. "We look forward to learning with and from our colleagues from around the world." Confirmed plenary speakers included: Geoffrey Garnett of the UK, Imperial College of London; Jaime Sepulveda of the Mexico, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Alex Coutinho from Uganda who is working at the Infectious Disease Institute of Makerere University in that country; Elizabet Fadul from the Dominican Republic, World Food Programme/Global Youth Partners. Others include: Myron Cohen from the USA, UNC Center for Infectious Diseases, Prevention Science; Adeeba Kamalruzaman from Malaysia, University of Malaysia, Substance Use and Harm Reduction; Jorge Saavedra from Mexico working with the CENSIDA, Johnathan Mann Memorial Lecture, Sex Between Men; Robert Silicano of Johns Hopkins University, The Virus and the Immune System; Linda Richter from South Africa, Human Sciences Research Council, HIV and Children; Bruno Spire from France, University of Marseilles/AIDES, Prevention Strategies; Edwin Cameron of the South African Supreme Court of Appeal, Criminalization; Rolake Odetoyinbo from Nigeria,representing the Positive Action for Treatment Access, Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV in Healthcare; Anton Pozniak from UK working with the Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust, Advances in Antiretroviral Therapy. Others include: Elena Reynaga from Argentina, Redtrasex, Sex Work; Gregg Gonzalves from US, AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa, ART Scale Up; Zonibel Woods from Canada, International Women’s Health Coalition, Women and Girls and, Chakaya Jeremiah from Kenyan Ministry of Health, HIV and TB. More than 10,500 Abstracts was submitted for the conference. More than half of all sessions will be scientific sessions based on abstracts submitted in one of five tracks. Organizers received over 10,500 submissions by the 19 February deadline. These abstracts will undergo a blind, peer-review process to select those for presentation. The conference is organized around three components: science, community and leadership. In addition to the abstract-driven programme, over the past year, organizers have designed 50 non-abstract driven sessions focusing on key issues within and across these three programme areas. Some of the many important issues to be addressed include: coping with AIDS in political crisis and conflict situations; mobile populations and globalization; youth, sexual health and the impact of education on HIV vulnerability; and community involvement in HIV research. For the first time, the programme will include six regional sessions designed to focus attention on major issues within each region.
The AIDS 2008 Opening Session will take place on Sunday, 3 August and will include Mexican government and international leaders, as well as community leaders representing people living with HIV and youth. Daily Special Sessions, held during the lunch hour, will feature high-level speakers (including Heads of State) and discussion of major issues on the horizon. One session will provide a report on the outcomes of the Positive Leadership Summit, a major international meeting of people living with HIV/AIDS, which is scheduled to take place in Mexico City just prior to AIDS 2008. AIDS 2008 is convened by the International AIDS Society (IAS), the world’s leading independent association of HIV professionals. Local partners include the federal government of Mexico, the Government of Mexico City and local scientific and community leadership. International institutional partners for AIDS 2008 include: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and its co-sponsors, the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Food Programme (WFP); International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO); Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+)/International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW); World YWCA; and the Asian Harm Reduction Network (AHRN). |
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