Toronto named host of the 2006 International AIDS
Conference
On December 1, 2003, World
AIDS Day, the International AIDS Society officially announced that Toronto
will host the XVI International AIDS Conference, to be held August 13-19, 2006.
AIDS 2006 will bring
15,000 to 20,000 of the world's leading scientists, health care workers, activists
and community leaders together to share current knowledge on HIV/AIDS.
This will be the third time that the conference has come to Canada, a distinction
that recognizes Canada's leadership on HIV/AIDS issues. The Canadian
Strategy on HIV/AIDS, which integrates efforts to deal with the medical,
scientific, economic, and social impacts of HIV/AIDS, is one example of Canada's
global leadership. Another example is the recent decision by the Canadian government
to amend the Patent Act in order to allow the production and export of generic
HIV/AIDS medications to developing nations.
Toronto, with its long history of supporting communities responding to HIV/AIDS,
was selected by the International AIDS Society and its partners: the International
Council of AIDS Service Organizations, the Global Network of People Living with
HIV, the International Community of Women Living with HIV, and UNAIDS.
The Toronto conference will showcase the best science and community-based interventions
from Canada and around the world. The web site for the Toronto XVI International
AIDS Conference is http://www.ias.se/aids2006.
20 years of international conferences
When the International AIDS Conference convenes in Toronto in 2006 it will
be the third time that it has met in Canada since the inaugural conference in
1985. In 1989, the conference met at Montreal, with the theme AIDS: the scientific
and social challenge. Conference sessions examined topics that ranged from
the search for an AIDS vaccine to the impact of AIDS on family life. In 1996,
the conference returned to Canada when Vancouver served as the platform for
the announcement of major scientific breakthroughs in the treatment of HIV/AIDS.
The International AIDS Conference is a key element in the global fight against
HIV/AIDS. The conference, which has met throughout North America, Africa, and
Asia, brings together professionals from around the world to share their knowledge
and experiences.
HIV/AIDS thrives through ignorance, and sharing information has proven to be
the single best defense against the disease.
Looking back at past conferences…
HIV/AIDS is a global epidemic, and can only be fought on a global scale.
In the lead-up to the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, it is interesting
to look back at the last conference held in Canada, and to review the theme
of that conference and of those that have been held since 1996.
1996 - Vancouver: One World, One Hope
The XI International AIDS Conference, held in Vancouver, was the second international
conference on HIV/AIDS to take place in Canada. The first was held in Montreal
in 1989. The theme of the Vancouver conference, One World, One Hope,
was the most optimistic yet, and highlighted the discovery of protease inhibitors.
A protease inhibitor is an antiretroviral drug that interferes with the HIV production
process once it has already infected a cell. These drugs block an HIV enzyme
called protease. For the first time in the history of the epidemic, scientists
spoke of the possibility of eradicating HIV from the bloodstreams of infected
people. This new knowledge marked a turning point in the AIDS epidemic.
In order to address a perceived lack of attention to HIV prevention at international
AIDS conferences, the Canadian Public Health Association coordinated an HIV
prevention symposium as a satellite to the Vancouver conference. Together with
CPHA's partner organizations, Health Canada, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, a program
was developed to profile international best practices, including models of successful
HIV/AIDS prevention programs and policies. The success of the symposium in Vancouver
prompted the partner organizations to hold another satellite session at the
1998 International AIDS Conference.
The Vancouver conference attracted a mix of activists, demonstrators, physicians
and business representatives. Many would say that the 1996 Conference on AIDS
brought more than optimism. The medical breakthrough triggered a sense of global
solidarity and a much greater sense of responsibility to share new treatments
with those developing countries that carry the largest burden of the epidemic.
1998 - Geneva, Switzerland: Bridging the Gap
The sense of global solidarity continued with the XII World AIDS Conference.
Representatives from more than 177 countries gathered in Geneva, Switzerland
to discuss much more than treatment. The theme of the XII International AIDS
Conference, Bridging the Gap, was chosen to highlight the differences
between the developed and the developing world with respect to epidemiology,
prevalence and management. The Geneva conference presented such topic discussions
as politics, human rights, economics and ethics.
While past conferences focused on prevention and treatment, gaps widened between
the established market economies in the "north" - where access to
advanced medical treatments is relatively within reach - and the resource-poor
countries in the "south", where more than 90% of those infected live
with little hope of receiving new treatments. The Geneva conference theme was
an evolution in approach, since it called attention to the need to "bridge
the gap" between north and south and to make advances in understanding,
prevention and treatment relevant to the vast majority of people living with
HIV.
2000 - Durban, South Africa: Break the Silence
The economic and medical gap between North and South remained a principal theme
of the conference in Durban. For the first time in the 20-year history of the
global HIV pandemic, the International AIDS Conference was held in a developing
country. Holding the conference in South Africa, which has one of the highest
HIV infection rates in the world, brought home the message that it is not enough
to create treatment programs that are available only in the developed world.
Information and treatments must be shared with the developing world to be effective.
Over 12,700 delegates from around the world, including 4000 African delegates
and 1500 fully sponsored people living with HIV/AIDS, were in Durban for one
of the largest conferences ever held in Africa. This conference also had record
numbers of youth and adolescent delegates.
Research presentations covered all aspects of HIV/AIDS clinical science, epidemiology,
socio-behavioural science, government policy and community-based interventions,
and care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS. Further evidence was presented
that HIV disease progression was being dramatically delayed for those with access
to highly active antiretroviral therapies (HARRT). However, the lack of access
to treatment in developing countries was one of the recurring and urgent themes
coming out of the Durban conference.
The XIII World AIDS Conference theme, Break the Silence, became
an understatement. By the end of the week the entire country, the majority of
the African continent, and a good portion of the world were engaged in discussion
about HIV/AIDS.
2002 - Barcelona, Spain: Knowledge
and Commitment for Action
The theme of the XIV International AIDS Conference was Knowledge and
Commitment for Action. This theme was selected to reinforce the need
for everyone at all levels - including scientists, the HIV/AIDS community, the
public and private sectors, and people working in the field - to work together
to review the knowledge gained through science and experience, and to use this
knowledge to commit to action.
Over the years, knowledge gained from the basic and clinical sciences has been
dramatically important, and has contributed greatly to increasing the life expectancy
and quality of life of infected persons. Prevention efforts have succeeded in
reducing the rate of new infections in many populations around the world, though
there is still much work to be done in this area. The pandemic is expanding
in many parts of the world, particularly among the poor and other vulnerable
populations, and access to new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies is limited
to an extremely small percentage of at-risk and infected people.
Canadian participation at the Barcelona Conference was remarkable in its breadth
and scope. The Canada Booth, co-ordinated by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Information
Centre, Canadian Public Health Association on behalf of Health Canada and its
partners in the Canadian Strategy for HIV/AIDS, and the Canadian International
Development Agency, was visited by thousands of participants. Canadians demonstrated
their commitment to sharing knowledge and taking action by leading many workshops
and satellite meetings, on topics that ranged from vaccines, to prevention,
to treatment development. Meanwhile, at the G8 Summit held in Kananaskis, Alberta,
then Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced several initiatives that Canada
would support in Africa, including the contribution of $50 million for Africa-based
HIV/AIDS research towards the development of an HIV vaccine.
2004 - Bangkok, Thailand: Access
for All
The XV International AIDS Conference will be held in July 2004 and will link
community and science in galvanizing the world's response to HIV/AIDS through
increased commitment, leadership and accountability. It is also the first international
AIDS conference to be held in Southeast Asia, where HIV/AIDS is emerging as
a pandemic.
It is important that this Conference is to be held in Southeast Asia, since
Asia is home to more than one third of the world's population, and more than
one quarter of the world's new infections occur there. On the other hand, Asia,
and in particular Thailand, offers lessons learned about extraordinary local
responses for effective interventions in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS.
The conference's theme is Access for All, and to embody this,
a program is being developed that will reflect all facets of the current HIV/AIDS
pandemic and ensure that all voices, all experiences and all concerns are represented.
A variety of sessions are planned to present the latest developments in the
scientific, political and community arenas.
A special focus will be placed on examining progress on providing HIV/AIDS
treatments to people in the developing world. The Bangkok conference will build
on the momentum created in Durban, which led to the United Nations' commitment
to prevention, treatment and care on a truly global scale.
Preparing for 2006 with Canada at the centre
The designation of Toronto as the site for the XVI International AIDS Conference
means that, for the next three years, Canada will be at the centre of the global
struggle against HIV/AIDS. This offers an unparalleled opportunity to learn
about cutting-edge medical research, activism and community building.
|
This article was prepared by the 
