18th International AIDS Conference begins

July 19, 2010 09:27 am | Updated 09:27 am IST - Vienna

Protesters demand support for AIDS at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria. Photo: AP

Protesters demand support for AIDS at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria. Photo: AP

An estimated 20,000 participants from over 185 countries are taking part in the 18th International AIDS Conference that began in Vienna Sunday.

The conference is a platform for those working in the field of HIV/AIDS as well as policy makers and persons living with HIV to exchange their views on the current situation of HIV prevention and treatment, new research in the field and recent scientific developments.

With “Rights Here, Right Now” as its slogan, the conference also emphasises the protection of human rights for those living with or most vulnerable to HIV, including right to healthcare and access to all scientific HIV prevention and intervention methods.

Addressing the opening session through video conference, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the improvements made in the global HIV programme, but stressed that many obstacles still remain.

Julio Montaner, chair of the conference and president of the International AIDS Society (IAS), and Brigitte Schmied, president of the Austrian AIDS Society also addressed the opening ceremony.

They both called on the international community to jointly fights against HIV/AIDS, stressing that full protection of human rights represents a fundamental first step to achieve the goal.

According to the latest figures of the U.N., 33.4 million people have been found living with HIV by the end of 2008.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.