The 5th International AIDS Society Conference (AIDS 2009) Will Take place July 19-22, 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa

(Cape Town, South Africa)- In the face of an ongoing global economic recession that threatens to undermine recent progress, organizers of the 5th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2009) today vowed to continue pushing for evidence-based approaches to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, while emphasizing the continued need to strategically invest in HIV research, including operations research, to guide implementation of programmes. IAS 2009 will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 19 to 22 July 2009. The IAS 2009 host country, South Africa, bears the largest burden of the AIDS pandemic of any country in the world, with an estimated 5.7 million people living with HIV in 2007.

"The need for evidence-based interventions has never been more important," said International AIDS Society (IAS) President and IAS 2009 Conference Chair Dr. Julio Montaner, Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Vancouver. "Good science must inform good policy and programming to ensure the best outcomes for individuals and communities," added Dr. Montaner. "Science has given us the ability to save lives; now is not the time to be short-sighted."

Visit www.ias2009.org to Register, View Conference Programme in Detail

The full conference programme is now available through the online Programme-at-a-Glance, accessible through the conference website. During the conference, the Programme-at-a-Glance will include links to all abstracts, as well as webcasts, session slides and speeches, when available. Additional online programming will be provided by the two official online partners: Clinical Care Options and NAM. Delegate and media registration is also available online.

AIDS in South Africa

The IAS 2009 host country, South Africa, bears the largest burden of the AIDS pandemic of any country in the world, with an estimated 5.7 million people living with HIV in 2007. The decision to hold IAS 2009 in southern Africa reflects organizers' desire to refocus the attention of the international scientific community on the continued challenges facing a region that is battling a generalized epidemic, and to highlight the latest efforts to fight it.

"IAS 2009 is taking place during an important period of change in South Africa and will be the first international AIDS meeting held here since the new government was installed," said Conference Co-Chair Prof. Hoosen Coovadia, Chairman of Dira Sengwe and Scientific Director of the Doris Duke Medical Research Institute at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. "This is an ideal opportunity to move both the national and global responses forward, based on sound science."

Opening Session to Highlight the Convergence of Science and Activism

The IAS 2009 opening session, taking place on the evening of Sunday, 19 July, will feature a scientific keynote address by 2008 Nobel Laureate and IAS Governing Council member Professor Françoise Barré-Sinoussi. Prof. Barré-Sinoussi will discuss one of the most exciting, yet challenging frontiers in HIV science: the need to better understand latent viral reservoirs and the related goal of eventually eradicating HIV from the human body. AIDS Free World Co-Director Stephen Lewis will deliver the second keynote address entitled, "Scientists as Activists". Delegates also will hear welcoming remarks by the conference Co-Chairs, a representative of the South African government and by community leaders Zackie Achmat and Vuyiseka Dubula of South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign.

New Operations Research Track Underscores Need for 'Learning by Doing'

The majority of conference sessions will be based on peer-reviewed scientific abstracts prepared by researchers and implementers from across the globe. Over 2,300 original abstracts were submitted to IAS 2009, with almost 1,000 selected for presentation at the conference or inclusion on the abstract CD-ROM. A searchable database containing the full text of all accepted abstracts will be available on the conference website on Saturday, 18 July (though abstract findings are embargoed until date and time of delivery).

While continuing its strong emphasis on basic, clinical and biomedical prevention sciences, IAS 2009 will feature a new programme track focusing on operations research. The new track is intended to further emphasize the defining characteristic of the IAS conference: how to quickly translate scientific discoveries into practical interventions that respond to current challenges in HIV prevention, treatment and care, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. In addition to abstract-driven sessions, the conference will feature a variety of symposia and bridging sessions.

Plenary Speakers to Address Key Topics in HIV Research

HIV experts from a range of disciplines will address delegates each morning.

Monday, 20 July

Reuben Granich (US): Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) as Prevention

Amalio Telenti (Switzerland): HIV and Host Genetics

Louise Kuhn (South Africa): Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission

Wafaa El-Sadr (US): Inflammation and HIV: A New Paradigm

Tuesday, 21 July

Ron Gray (UK): Biomedical Prevention, Including Microbicides, Vaccines, Circumcision and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)

Bruce Walker (US): Immune Control of HIV Replication

Stefano Bertozzi (Mexico): Financing the Long-Term Response to HIV

Prashini Moodley (South Africa): HIV and Extremely Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

Wednesday, 22 July

Gerald Friedland (US): Advances in Operations Research Addressing the Convergent HIV and TB Epidemics

Pedro Cahn (Argentina): Antiretroviral Therapy in 2009: Successes and Challenges

Rachel Jewkes (South Africa): Gender and Sexuality: Recent Data and its Implications for HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support

Jerald Sadoff (US): Developments in Tuberculosis Vaccine Research

Webcasts of plenaries will be available on the conference website.

Programme to Highlight Other Key Research and Implementation Issues

IAS 2009 is an opportunity to further explore the current debate over the impact of HIV-specific funding on broader efforts to strengthen health systems in low- and moderate-income countries. In addition, four special sessions will examine other emerging issues, including:

Scaling up Biomedical Prevention and Treatment Interventions - The Critical Role of Social Science, Law and Human Rights (Monday, 20 July, 13:00)

US Global HIV Policy, Research and Implementation Under a New Administration, featuring NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci and others (TBC) (Monday, 20 July, 13:00)

What Have We Learned from DART (Development of AntiRetroviral Therapy in Africa)?: A Special Late Breaker Session (Tuesday, 21 July, 07:00)

Leadership and Accountability in Africa, a panel discussion including UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe, moderated by South African journalist Belinda Beresford (Tuesday, 21 July, 13:00)

Drug and Alcohol Dependence - New Advances and Ongoing Challenges in HIV Treatment and Prevention, which will begin with the presentation of a new IAS-NIDA Joint Fellowship Encouraging HIV and Drug Use Research (Tuesday, 21 July, 13:00)

Other major research topics to be explored at the conference include:

When to initiate HIV therapy;

Unequal access to viral load testing, resistance monitoring and HAART in low- and middle-income countries;

Improved management of TB and other co-morbidities, such as Hepatitis C, mental illness and addictions;

Improved retention in HIV care and treatment and efforts to maximize survival among people living with HIV before they are eligible for HAART; and

New strategies and controversies in HIV testing and surveillance.

Media Enquiries

6/23/09

Source
5th International IAS Conference (AIDS 2009). Press Release. June 16, 2009.

HIV and AIDS: Top News Articles   HIV and AIDS: FDA-approved Treatments  HIV and AIDS: Experimental Treatments HIV and AIDS: Library of CME Programs