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Scientific Programme Vision
The fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic is currently facing the major challenge of reaching the goal of “universal access” to prevention, treatment and care by 2010, a goal that has been adopted unanimously by the international community.
To halt and reverse the spread of the epidemic, more emphasis will be put on “intensifying prevention”. Worldwide, the rate at which new HIV infections occur exceeds the capacity of health systems to deliver care and treatment. Efficient and equitable access to treatment for people already living with HIV will be reached by integration and strengthening of health systems. A comprehensive AIDS response, including prevention, treatment and support, needs to be accelerated, integrated and ultimately sustained.
The vision of the AIDS 2008 scientific program is to provide new, research-based evidence, and to synthesize already available evidence in order to inform and guide the global response to these challenges. This vision will guide the work of each of the five scientific tracks as they focus on three primary goals:
- to accelerate the scale up of HIV prevention and treatment services;
- to integrate the AIDS response into existing systems and health programs; and
- to ensure the long term sustainability of the response.
To accomplish these goals, the AIDS 2008 Scientific Programme will address cutting-edge issues of interest to a range of disciplines, and foster multidisciplinary reflection among researchers, practitioners and activists on what has been accomplished to date and what remains to be done. The Conference will provide a meeting place for the international community to come together to discuss the state and impact of the epidemic, and develop ways of progressing towards the goals that are set.
Emphasis will be given to the following cross-cutting themes that necessitate common contributions from various disciplines and from different scientific tracks of the conference:
- Globalization & HIV/AIDS: how, in a world with borders, globalization and global inequalities affect the response to the epidemic, and how this response can best contribute to increasing the benefits and reducing the drawbacks of globalization.
- Science & Technology: how to transfer to the field and increase worldwide access to recent biomedical advances, technological innovations and improvements in public health policies in HIV prevention, treatment and support.
- Health Systems Strengthening & Integration: how to strengthen broad-based health systems and integrate HIV interventions to deliver the necessary services to those in greatest need; and how HIV-targeted programs can reciprocally contribute to health systems strengthening and global health.
- Stigma, Discrimination & Social Justice: how to combat stigma and discrimination against PLWHAS and groups more exposed to the risks of HIV infection, and to overcome existing barriers in access to HIV care and prevention, with a special interest in approaches that incorporate these goals within a social justice framework.
- "Do the Right Thing" and Evidence-informed policies & Programmes: how to guarantee that public policies and interventions by all concerned partners are based on the best available evidence and on established good practices at the global, national and local levels.
- Tracking Progress & Accountability: how to track the progress that has been made in the response, as well as the remaining gaps and limitations, in order to increase accountability of all partners towards the communities most affected by the epidemic.
The scientific vision and these themes will serve as a basis for building both abstract and non-abstract driven sessions of the AIDS 2008 Scientific Programme.
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Scientific Programme Committee |
Co-Chairs
Mario Bronfman, Mexico
José Maria Gatell, Spain
Marie Laga, Belgium
Members
Carlos del Rio Chiriboga, Mexico
Françoise Brun-Vezinet, France
Ian Weller, UK
Juan Sierra Madero, Mexico
Isabelle de Zoysa, Switzerland
Carlos Magis, Mexico
Ida Susser, USA
Jean-Paul Moatti, France
Héctor Carrillo, Mexico
Mirka Negroni, Mexico
Dennis Altman, Australia
Click here to view photos of the committee co-chairs and members.
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Scientific Programme Tracks |
The Conference’s abstract-driven sessions are organised into five tracks, representing the major areas of HIV/AIDS research:
- Track A: Biology and Pathogenesis of HIV
- Track B: Clinical Research, Treatment and Care
- Track C: Epidemiology, Prevention and Prevention Research
- Track D: Social, Behavioural and Economic Science
- Track E: Policy & Political Science
A description of the scope and objectives for each track and a list of categories within each track can be found here.
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