U.S. to host International AIDS Conference for the first time in more than 20 years

The International AIDS Society has announced that the 2012 International AIDS Conference will be held in Washington, D.C. This will mark the first time the meeting has been held in the United States since 1990, when it was held in San Francisco.

The decision came largely as a result of the lifting of restrictions for people with HIV entering the United States, which was announced by President Obama in October.

“The return of the conference to the U.S. is the result of years of dedicated advocacy to end a misguided policy based on fear, rather than science,” Elly Katabira, MD, president-elect of the IAS and professor at Makerere University in Uganda, said in a press release.

Julio Montaner, MD, IAS president and member of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Vancouver, commented on the importance of the repeal of the restrictions. “We urge other nations with similar discriminatory policies still in place to follow suit,” he said.

The announcement was lauded by AIDS activists around the world. However, some have said that more work needs to be done to improve the way HIV/AIDS is handled in the United States. The IAS announcement also did not include sufficient discussion of the epidemic among men who have sex with men, according to officials from some AIDS rights groups.

The 2012 meeting is expected to attract more than 25,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries, including more than 2,500 journalists. It will take place July 22-27, 2012.

The 2010 International AIDS Conference will be held in Vienna.

The decision to hold the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C. in 2012 represents a long-awaited victory of science over fear and stigma. The policy of blocking entry and forcing HIV status disclosure was always a misguided political move. It appropriately lead to the decision of the International AIDS Society, which I lead at the time, to cancel all future meetings in this country until the policy was reversed.

Fortunately, this has finally happened after nearly 20 years.

The International AIDS Conference should be held here, where we can be extremely proud of the many ways in which our country has lead the world in advancing the care of HIV-infected individuals. These advances are now saving countless lives worldwide.

The 2012 conference should provide a time to celebrate those triumphs while simultaneously encouraging our scientists and our government to recommit their efforts and resources to make even more progress to combat the epidemic in all parts of the world, and in every affected community.

- Paul Volberding, MD

Infectious Disease News Editorial Board member