VIENNA, AUSTRIA — Encouraged by recent progress but wary of signs of possible retrenchment, an estimated 20,000 participants from more than 185 countries have assembled in Vienna for the start of the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010). Under the theme of “Rights Here, Right Now”, experts described the state of the epidemic, noting the central role of human rights protection to success, and outlined the critical choices facing world leaders in the year ahead.
“For the first time since the development of lifesaving treatments for HIV, there is evidence of gamechanging scenarios demonstrating that sustained and widespread access to antiretroviral treatment can save lives and help reverse the epidemic,” said Dr. Julio Montaner, AIDS 2010 Chair.
“At this promising moment, we must stay the course,” continued Dr. Mantaner, who is President of the International AIDS Society and Director of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Vancouver, Canada.
Vienna was chosen as the host city for AIDS 2010 in part due to its proximity to Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), a region with a growing epidemic fuelled primarily by injecting drug use. Conference delegates will examine the epidemic in EECA, as well as in all other regions. Home to two thirds of all people living with HIV and AIDS, Southern Africa remains the most heavily affected region globally.
In a strong show of local support, Austrian President Heinz Fischer and Minister of Health Alois Stöger welcomed delegates. Other speakers included: South African Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe; European Union Commissioner of Health and Consumer Policy John Dalli; and community representatives Vladimir Zhovtyak and Alexandra (Sasha) Volgina, from Ukraine and Russia, respectively.
Youth activist Rachel Arinii Judhistari from Indonesia, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé and singer/songwriter/activist and UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador Annie Lennox also addressed delegates. While at AIDS 2010, Ms. Lennox will headline a march and rally on human rights on Tuesday, 20 July (www.hivhumanrightsnow.org).
“In the past five years, the coverage of HIV treatment in low- and middle-income countries has increased tenfold to now reach five million people,” said Dr. Brigitte Schmied, AIDS 2010 Local Co-Chair and President of the Austrian AIDS Society.
“Just ten years after AIDS 2000 in Durban, we have shown the skeptics that universal access is achievable; that this is a goal we can and must reach,” she said. “Holding ourselves and our political leaders accountable for this goal, especially as the next Global Fund replenishment approaches, is our continued challenge in the months ahead.”
Vienna Declaration: Leading with Science, not Ideology
The launch of the Vienna Declaration in the lead-up to the conference emphasizes the importance of responding to AIDS with evidence-based policies and programmes. The official conference declaration calls for the reorientation of drug policy from the “War on Drugs” approach to an evidence-based approach that recognizes the human rights and medical needs of those who use illicit drugs.
The current approach has impeded efforts to prevent HIV through the use of interventions such as needle and syringe programmes and opioid substitution therapy. Access to these interventions is limited despite evidence demonstrating their effectiveness. Nobel Laureates and world leaders in science, medicine, economics, and from civil society have already endorsed the declaration, as have hundreds of organizations and the former Presidents of Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico. Individual and organizational endorsements may be made online at:www.viennadeclaration.com.
Evidence also makes clear that the success of HIV scale-up demands that strong human rights protections be in place for those most vulnerable to HIV, including women and girls, displaced populations, men who have sex with men, sex workers and youth.
Photo: UN General Secretary Ban Kee-Moon ©IAS/Marcus Rose
