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AIDS 2010 delegates and speakers call for full support of Global Fund
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Several speakers at the 19th International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria, including chairman Julio Montaner, MD,president of the International AIDS Society and director of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Vancouver, Canada, called on global leaders to commit at least $20 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The money should be targeted toward universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, according to a press release.
“We are at a pivotal moment in the global response to AIDS, and there is both a moral and a public health imperative that we continue in the right direction, especially as HIV treatment guidelines are expanded to reach people earlier in the course of their disease and our understanding that providing antiretroviral treatment also prevents new transmissions continues to grow,” Montaner said. “Increased financial commitments must be matched with a drive for the most efficient use of available resources.”
Brigitte Schmied, MD, local co-chair of the conference and president of the Austrian AIDS Society, said a Global Fund replenishment meeting scheduled for October will reveal whether global leaders are truly committed to universal access.
“The rich scientific findings and on-the-ground experiences presented at AIDS 2010 should be all the evidence that leaders of all nations need to fully commit to doing their part,” she said.