Vienna, Austria has been chosen to host the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010), the largest international meeting on HIV, where every two years 25,000 participants representing all stakeholders in the global response to HIV meet to assess progress and identify future priorities. AIDS 2010 is organized by the International AIDS Society (IAS), in partnership with government, scientific and civil society partners in Austria and international partners from civil society and the United Nations. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the IAS is the world’s leading independent association of HIV professionals.

“The International AIDS Society and its partners are extremely pleased to partner with the City of Vienna, the Government of Austria and local scientific and community leaders, who have a long history of leadership on HIV issues,” said IAS President-elect, Dr. Julio Montaner, Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and International Conference Chair for AIDS 2010. “Because the 2010 conference will coincide with the deadline that world leaders set for the goal of providing universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, all eyes of the world will be upon Vienna.”

“Vienna has through history been seen as a crossroads between Western and Eastern Europe, and it will continue to serve that role as host of the conference," said Dr. Montaner. "The conference is an opportunity to look specifically at the challenges facing the emerging epidemics in Eastern Europe in the context of hardest hit regions around the world and the overall global response”, thus Montaner.

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), an estimated 150,000 people in Eastern Europe and Central Asia were newly infected with HIV in 2007 bringing the number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the region to 1.6 million. This compares with 630,000 PLHIV in 2001, an increase of 150%. Worldwide, an estimated 33.2 million people are living with HIV and more than 2.1 million people died of AIDS in 2007.
Conference Programme

Internet: http://www.aids2010.org/

The 6th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2011), 17–20 July 2011 in Rome, will be dedicated to the exploration and implementation of HIV science. This biennial gathering is a crucial opportunity for the world’s leading scientists, clinicians, implementers, public health experts and community leaders to examine the latest developments in HIV-related research, and to explore how scientific advances can be translated quickly into effective interventions to prevent and treat HIV, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

IAS 2011 will be an opportunity to highlight new scientific developments and the need to rapidly implement them in the field. We will also continue to emphasize monitoring the effectiveness of programmes as we scale up treatment and prevention, given that we still have tremendous strides to make before reaching the goal of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

Rome’s unique history and character makes it a living bridge between the global South and North and we look forward to making the 2011 conference another milestone in the fight against inequalities in access to HIV prevention and treatment and, in general, to health.
Conference Programme

Email: info@iasociety.org
Internet: http://www.ias2011.org/