AIDS Conference calls to deliver on universal access to proven prevention strategies, care and treatment

A sense of hopefulness tempered with growing impatience marked the end of the XVI International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2006) held at Toronto from 13 to 18 August, with scientists, clinicians, policy-makers, people living with HIV/AIDS and other community leaders and caregivers calling for an accelerated pace to scale up HIV prevention, care and treatment programmes in resource-limited settings.
“The convergence of global stakeholders at AIDS 2006 has provided an ideal opportunity to examine the gap between what society is capable of doing in the face of this unprecedented humanitarian crisis and the actual level of response”, said Dr. Helene Gayle, outgoing President of the International AIDS Society (IAS) and President and CEO of CARE USA. “Despite important momentum over the past few years, the slow pace of progress has led to growing impatience. My hope is that we will use what we’ve learned here in Toronto to strengthen the global response”.
“This conference cannot be deemed a success unless we collectively realize our theme of ‘Time to Deliver’ said Conference Co-Chair Dr. Mark Wainberg, Director of the McGill University AIDS Centre. “Indeed, we will have failed unless we dramatically and rapidly expand by millions the number of people around the world with access to antiretroviral drugs and simultaneously scale up prevention. Progress cannot be achieved if more people become infected by HIV each year than the numbers that are able to access treatment”.
According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), at the end of 2005, an estimated 39 million people worldwide were living with HIV/AIDS, the vast majority in developing countries. Last year, 4.1 million people became newly infected with the virus, and 2.8 million died of AIDS-related illnesses. Of the 6.8 million people living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries who are in need of antiretroviral medication, only 24 per cent have access. The treatment access gap is even greater for children under 15. Just 8-13 per cent of the 800,000 children in need of HIV treatment have access.
The six-day meeting, which gathered over 26,000 participants from more than 170 countries, heard the latest research findings in basic and clinical research, epidemiology, social science and policy. Some sessions also explored community, leadership and issues of accountability.
Empowering women and girls having recently emerged as a major priority for an effective response to the epidemic, the conference programme also featured a number of sessions addressing this theme.
“I challenge you my fellow delegates to enter the fray of gender inequality. There is no more honourable and productive calling. There is nothing of greater import in this world. All roads lead from women to social change, and that includes subduing the pandemic”, said Stephen Lewis, United Nations Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa in his closing keynote address.
The XVII International AIDS Conference, AIDS 2008 will be held in Mexico City. For more information, visit www.aids2006.org.