AIDS 2012: Turning the Tide on HIV/AIDS

The XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) kicked off July 22 in Washington, DC, bringing together 23,000 researchers, care and service providers, policy-makers, activists, and people living with HIV. The meeting theme, "Turning the Tide," reflects a sense of optimism stemming from recent progress in prevention and access to treatment.

"Our return to the United States after a 22-year absence comes at a time of extraordinary hope, a time when we believe that the end of the AIDS epidemic is possible," said International AIDS Society president and AIDS 2012 International Chair Elly Katabira.

The largest meeting of its kind, the conference combines scientific sessions with a Global Village for community organizations. Countless satellite sessions and other events accompany the conference, including a display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on the National Mall.

On Sunday the AIDS Healthcare Foundation sponsored the "Keep the Promise" march, preceded by a "human red ribbon" and a rally featuring Margaret Cho, Wyclef Jean, and the Rev. Al Sharpton. Another large march, dubbed "We Can End AIDS," is scheduled for Tuesday.

At an opening press conference and plenary Sunday evening, speakers lauded progress in areas such as treatment as prevention, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and expanding access to antiretroviral therapy, but also emphasized the need for continued funding.

"We must resolve together never to go backwards, despite the hard economic times we live in," said Katabira.

"History has always told us that investments in science have produced dividends far beyond the initial investment," said AIDS 2012 Local Chair Diane Havlir from the University of California at San Francisco. "The story being told here this week is that scientifically, when it comes to AIDS, there is more light at the end of the tunnel than there has ever been in the three decades of the epidemic."

"The AIDS fight has shown the world how to turn the tide of a massive assault on human life and dignity," said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim, who began his remarks praising the efforts of AIDS activists including ACT UP and the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa. "We have a responsibility to ensure that lessons from AIDS inform and improve our efforts to tackle other goals, above all poverty eradication."

The AIDS conference is being held in the U.S. for the first time since 1990, after presidents George Bush and Barack Obama lifted the banon HIV positive visitors in 2009. But activists throughout the week will be protesting the fact that U.S. visa and immigration rules exclude sex workers and drug usersfrom other countries.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) announced that she has introduced a bill to remove these restrictions.

"We must repeal laws that violate human rights including those of men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, and those who inject drugs," Lee said. If we are ever going to see an end to AIDS in our lifetime, we have to involve all those populations that must be a part of the solution."

At a morning plenary on Monday, Hillary Clinton reviewed the milestones made in the epidemic to date and the Obama Administration's progress on achieving an "AIDS-free generation," meaning a generation in which no babies are born with HIV, people reach adolescence and adulthood with a significantly lower risk of infection everywhere in the world, and those who do become infected have access to treatment to prevent progression to AIDS.

Elton John also made a celebrity appearance on Monday, decrying laws worldwide that criminalize homosexuality, increase stigma, and thereby hinder the fight against AIDS.

Asked whether talking about an AIDS-free generation might breed complacency and cause donors to withdraw funds, former PEPFAR chief Mark Dybul said, "We are overwhelmed with complacency these days, in some ways because people don't see a light at the end of tunnel. Today if we invested enough we could end the epidemic, and that's how we get people engaged."

"It’s important to have messages that give people hope," Lee concurred. "People think because we've come so far we can become complacent...We need to make some noise and get people involved again. We need to put HIV on the front burner."

Conference organizers are encouraging delegates and others to endorse the Washington Declaration, a 9-point action plan for turning the tide on the epidemic:

• An increase in targeted new investments;
• Evidence-based HIV prevention, treatment and care in accord with the human rights of those at greatest risk and in greatest need;

• An end to stigma, discrimination, legal sanctions and human rights abuses against those living with and at risk for HIV;

• Marked increases in HIV testing, counseling and linkages to services;
Treatment for all pregnant and nursing women living with HIV and an end to peri-natal transmission;

• Expanded access to antiretroviral treatment for all in need;

• Identification, diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB);

• Accelerated research on new tools for HIV prevention, treatment, vaccines and a cure;
• Mobilization and meaningful involvement of affected communities.

The AIDS 2012 conference programis available online. Many key sessions will be webcast by Kaiser Family Foundation, and abstracts will be posted as they are presented. Follow news on Twitter with hashtag #AIDS2012.

Follow HIVandHepatitis coverage on our AIDS 2012 conference page, our Facebook page, or on Twitter @HIVandHepatitis.

7/23/12

Sources

International AIDS Society. International AIDS Conference Opens in the U.S. for the First Time in 22 Years at Defining Moment in the History of the AIDS Epidemic. Press release. July 22, 2012.

International AIDS Society. Scientific Advances Bring HIV/AIDS Epidemic to an Historic Turning Point as Global Leaders Meet at AIDS 2012 to Discuss Investment Priorities in HIV/AIDS during the Global Financial Crisis. Press release. July 23, 2012.