Moscow is the Host of the Largest Regional HIV/AIDS Conference
17th of May 2008
Moscow is the host of the largest Regional Conference on HIV/AIDSDuring May 3rd and 5th, Moscow will be the host of the International AIDS Conference for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
With the highest number of participants ever, the event will bring together during the three days representatives of the governmental sector and civil society active in this field.Moreover, its organization represents a moment of reference in a critical time in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
This gathering - expected with a lot of interest - represents the guerdon of the common efforts of the Federal Service of the Russian Federation for Surveillance in Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare, UNAIDS, International AIDS Society and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
"Accelerating Access to HIV Prevention, Treatment and Care for All" is the focus of the conference, the participants will review regional achievements, share experience and focus on identifying some strategies of reducing the impact of the epidemic in the region they come from.
"Eastern Europe and Central Asia is at a critical turning point in the epidemic. There are strong indications of growing leadership and partnership among governments, civil society and communities," said Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS. "However HIV-related stigma and discrimination continues to hamper HIV prevention efforts in the region and renewed political action is needed if real progress is to be achieved."
The HIV Epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: At a Crossroad.
Over the last decade, efforts to fight and treat HIV and AIDS have registered some remarkable successes: the estimated number of new HIV infections in the region fell from 230,000 in 2001 to 150,000 in 2007, which is a significant decrease.
But while the pace of the epidemic has slowed compared to 2000, the number of people living with HIV throughout the region continues to grow. Also, annual numbers of HIV diagnoses newly reported in 2006-2007 show an increase compared to previous years in Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Civil society has played a critical role throughout the region in reaching those most affected by HIV and accelerating access to and the effectiveness of prevention and treatment programs.
This effort was doubled by the governments increasing their support. For example, for 2006-2008, the Russian Federation provided $24 million to civil society organizations working in the area of HIV in addition to more than $800 million directed to other prevention, treatment and care programs and established the Governmental commission on HIV/AIDS, which includes civil society representatives and people living with HIV.
In Ukraine, the President established a new National Coordination Council on HIV/AIDS, TB and Drug Addiction, which he personally chairs and civil society has been working in close collaboration with government to scale up access to voluntary counseling and testing (VCT).
The conference will examine how current momentum can be sustained in the context of an expected decline in external funding, as well as the effects that this may have on the efforts of governments and NGOs, who have pioneered many life-saving initiatives, often with the help of external funding.
The Changing Face of HIV in the Region The papers of the conference will approach and debate including the three general trends of the HIV/AIDS that have significant and new implications for the region:
- The feminization of the epidemic: the epidemic is affecting a greater number of women. In 2006, women accounted for about 40 percent of reported new cases.
- Young people are bearing the brunt of the epidemic: in a region already facing demographic challenges, more than 75 percent of people living with HIV in the region are under the age of 30.
- Increasing heterosexual transmission: 37 percent of reported new cases are a result of unprotected heterosexual intercourse.
The conclusions of this conference will help to improve the joint regional response to the epidemic and inform and contribute to other major AIDS conferences in 2008, including the United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS in New York in June and the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City in August.
For more information, please visit http://www.eecaac.org/!
