Today I attended a kick-off meeting before the conference opening (July 18), which lasted for about 3-4 hours. It was a chance for all us volunteers to come together and learn in more detail what we would be doing. But before we were briefed, some members of the International AIDS Society (IAS, based in Geneva), spoke to us about the progress that has been achieved and the progress that still needs to be made to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Note: One thing that instantly attracted my attention was the lack of guys who had registered as volunteers - quite interesting, but anyway… got a bit sidetracked there!

First to open the floor, was IAS Acting Executive Director, Mats Ahnlund, who gave an honest and realistic presentation on the realities of the issues of HIV. He said, “The target for access to universal HIV care should have been met before 2010, but this commitment has failed because the seven richest countries haven’t met their targets.” 

Though 5 million people are receiving treatment, 7-9 million still need treatment, but aren’t receiving it. Mats gave a very frank and damning report, but reassured us that it wasn’t all doom and gloom - there’s still definitely hope. “The conference is going to help change things for the better and it will. Although we didn’t reach universal access this year, we have still managed to put 5 million people on medication.”

“The target for access to universal HIV care should have been met before 2010, but this commitment has failed because the seven richest countries haven’t met their targets.” 

The IAS has genuinely come along way and will carry on fighting and making major impacts on reluctant donors. Mats also talked about The Vienna Declaration – “A statement seeking to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies.” The declaration seeks to highlight and remind people that HIV/AIDS is now being contracted more so than ever through drug use and it is now Eastern European countries like Russia that are now facing a near epidemic. So everyone, please sign the declaration for governments to pay attention and reform certain drug policies on this website: www.viennadeclaration.com.

Another presentation that really stood out was Community Activist Liaison Ron Rosenes from Canada. Ron is such a fantastic man who has lived with HIV for 28 years. His energy, optimism and bravery is so inspiring, I was instantly drawn to what he had to say. “Activism never sleeps” is the first statement he said to us. He took us through a brief intro of the history (if you like) of HIV, which began to emerge amongst the gay community in the 1980s. In 1983, there was a massive conference about HIV/AIDS in Denver, which people living with the disease were not allowed to be involved in. It was mainly here where Ron’s activism campaign started.

How can a conference, summit or whatever be a success, when the actual people that the conference will affect are excluded and have no say?

US activists (including Ron) went to Denver and demanded “a respectful place on the table.” Ron went on to say that “The governments, policy makers etc. were not going to make a decision without us, so we protested and made our voices heard.” The reason why the International AIDS Conference is so different is because it promotes and embraces the elimination of hierarchy; “Here at the International AIDS Conference, rather than excluding activists, we invite activists to craft their message to a wider audience.” said Ron.

Seems like it’s going to be a really good conference… What I loved about the speakers was their honesty. They admitted that they hadn’t met the intended goals to provide the majority of people affected by HIV with treatment, but this conference opens a more positive door with more motivation to be on course to control the rates at which HIVS/AIDS is being contracted.

Words and photos: Carissa Yeboah

For more information on the International AIDS Society, please click here www.iasociety.org.