12th World AIDS Conference
  
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...bridging the gap
LAST UPDATE: Sunday, 28 June, 1998 14:00 GMT     M  E  D  I  A       R  E  L  E  A  S   E        ...all the news, as it happens

12th World AIDS Conference Programme Announced NEW THERAPIES, VACCINE, HUMAN RIGHTS AND COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES HIGHLIGHTED

ENGLISH    FRENCH

MEDIA RELEASE - 12 JUNE, 1998

Contact:   Conchita Sarnoff - International Media Co-ordinator
                 email: sarnoff@aids98.ch T:+41 22 761 2620 F: 41 22 761 2721(12th World Aids Conference-Geneva Secretariat)
                Daničle Letoré - Media Co-ordinator for Switzerland, Germany and Austria
                T/F: +41-22-774-2458 email: daniele@span.chT:+41 22 761 2620 F: 41 22 761 2721
           
(GENEVA, SWITZERLAND)- June 12, 1998 – The 12th World AIDS Conference today announced the programme of the Conference, which will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, June 28-July 3, 1998. The Conference will examine the entire spectrum of issues in AIDS from biomedical research and drug development to human rights and policy issues, around the theme of ‘Bridging the Gap’.

‘This year’s Conference will highlight the progress in the field of HIV/AIDS, but will also underscore how much still needs to be accomplished in terms of prevention, treatments, equitable access to treatments and care’, commented Prof. Bernard Hirschel, Conference Chair. ‘We hope that concrete actions and policy decisions will result from the Conference’.

The different sessions will discuss:

  • The identification of new drugs and drug regimens that are expected to be easier to use and cause fewer side-effects;
  • The progress in the quest for a vaccine against HIV infection;
  • The effective prevention of mother-to-child transmission, with latest results on prevention strategies and options for those living in the South (where 90% of new infections occur);
  • Preliminary data on the side-effect of protease inhibitors, fatty deposits called lipodystrophy, and how it can be avoided.

The programme is structured in four distinct tracks: Basic Science (A), Clinical Science and Care (B), Epidemiology, Prevention and Public Health (C), and Social and Behavioural Science (D). Through all the pathways, issues on policy, human rights, gender, and youth/children will constitute an integral part of the discussions. The programme includes plenary sessions, oral presentations, and workshops.

The community aspects of the programme will begin on Saturday June 27th, with a special forum including skills building sessions and satellite meetings. Community representatives are integrated throughout the whole Conference; all sessions aim at empowering resource-poor countries and providing a forum for exchange between different country representatives. The community symposia will deal with a number of issues related to community actions and HIV/AIDS.

‘Participatory and community approaches have contributed to the overall body of knowledge on HIV/AIDS and have brought issues into the public eye very successfully. It is through community participation and action that HIV/AIDS research has been put on the agenda of many countries. This Conference will allow the transfer of some of those skills and experiences to the representatives of countries in need of such knowhow’, said Robin Gorna, Community Planning Committee Chair.

The World AIDS Conference is the most important AIDS meeting, attended by leading AIDS researchers and featuring the most significant advances in the field. Over 11’000 participants are expected in Geneva from all over the world. The Conference is organised by a non-profit association with a Secretariat in Geneva, under the auspices of The International AIDS Society. Conference co-organisers include The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), The Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, The International AIDS Society, The International Council of AIDS Service Organizations, The International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS and The Canton of Geneva.
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