XVII International AIDS Conference, 2008
Encyclopedia
The XVII International AIDS Conference was held in Mexico City
, Mexico
from August 3–8, 2008. The theme of the conference was "Universal Action Now."
The Global Fund
hosted a photography exhibition by Magnum Photos
showing persons with HIV before beginning antiretroviral drug
therapy and then again four months later.
The International Planned Parenthood Federation
was promoting the use of evidence-based social services to cross promote HIV education with sexual and reproductive health.
UNIFEM
organized many events relating to women's rights and gender inequality.
Doctors without Borders hosted an event about the difficulties people under age 15 have in accessing HIV education and treatment.
James Chin
argued that the conference's efficacy was hindered by attendee's practice of political correctness
. Specifically he said that sub-Saharan Africa
's HIV prevention
programs were being harmed by the incorrect idea that poverty and discrimination rather than risky sex were the forces to be targeted when combating the spread of HIV. In places other than Africa, Chin stated that prevention programs should focus on gay men, injecting drug users, and sex workers and their clients because these groups are at highest risk of contracting HIV.
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
from August 3–8, 2008. The theme of the conference was "Universal Action Now."
Topics covered
Some of the topics covered at the conference include the following:- Evidence of abacavirAbacavirAbacavir is a nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor used to treat HIV and AIDS. It is available under the trade name Ziagen and in the combination formulations Trizivir and Kivexa/Epzicom...
's diminished efficacy in HIVHIVHuman immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
patients with high viral load - Evidence of abacavir's association with increased risk of cardiovascular disease in certain patients
- Progress on three second generation NNRTI drugs
- A set of three new HIV drugs which have produced undetectable viral load in 90% of treated patients
- TRIO of New HIV Drugs Leads to Undetectable Viral Load in 90% of Treatment-Experienced Patients
- Tenofovir causing nephrotoxicityNephrotoxicityNephrotoxicity is a poisonous effect of some substances, both toxic chemicals and medication, on the kidneys. There are various forms of toxicity. Nephrotoxicity should not be confused with the fact that some medications have a predominantly renal excretion and need their dose adjusted for the...
in persons with HIV - Raltegravir producing virus suppression in Treatment-Naive Patients with HIV at 96 Weeks
- US HIV Infections increasing at a higher than expected rate
Attendees
25,000 people attended the conference.The Global Fund
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is an international financing organization that aims to "[a]ttract and disburse additional resources to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria." A public–private partnership, the organization has its secretariat in Geneva,...
hosted a photography exhibition by Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices located in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo...
showing persons with HIV before beginning antiretroviral drug
Antiretroviral drug
Antiretroviral drugs are medications for the treatment of infection by retroviruses, primarily HIV. When several such drugs, typically three or four, are taken in combination, the approach is known as Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, or HAART...
therapy and then again four months later.
The International Planned Parenthood Federation
International Planned Parenthood Federation
The International Planned Parenthood Federation is a global non-governmental organization with the broad aims of promoting sexual and reproductive health, and advocating the right of individuals to make their own choices in family planning. It was first formed in 1952 in Bombay, India, and now...
was promoting the use of evidence-based social services to cross promote HIV education with sexual and reproductive health.
UNIFEM
UNIFEM
The United Nations Development Fund for Women, commonly known as UNIFEM was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International Women's Year. Its first director was Dr. Margaret Snyder, Ph.D...
organized many events relating to women's rights and gender inequality.
Doctors without Borders hosted an event about the difficulties people under age 15 have in accessing HIV education and treatment.
Conference responses
The media coverage of the event led to an unprecedented level of publication on HIV topics in Latin America. Many political leaders from all parts of the world made major announcements relating to HIV either immediately before or during the conference.- PanamaPanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
nian President Martín TorrijosMartín TorrijosMartín Erasto Torrijos Espino is a Panamanian politician and the former President of the Republic of Panama.Torrijos was elected President on May 2, 2004...
repealed the law which criminalized sex between men, making Panama the last country in Latin America excluding the Caribbean to decriminalize homosexual acts. - Mexican President Felipe CalderónFelipe CalderónFelipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...
announced his intent to make low drug pricing a priority in his government and removed the regulatory barriers which required pharmaceuticals sold in Mexico to be manufactured in country. - Mexico City mayor Marcelo EbrardMarcelo EbrardMarcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubón is the current Head of Government of the Federal District since December 5, 2006. He is a Mexican politician affiliated to the Party of the Democratic Revolution who served as Secretary-General of the former Mexican Federal District Department, minister of public...
spoke out against homophobiaHomophobiaHomophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the... - Indian Health Minister Anbumani RamadossAnbumani RamadossDr Anbumani Ramadoss had been the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India from May, 2004 till he resigned his post in April 2009 and is a member of Parliament from the Rajya Sabha he belongs to the Pattali Makkal Katchi. Born on 9 October 1968 in Puducherry, Anbumani...
urged the Indian parliament to repeal Section 377 of the Indian Penal CodeSection 377 of the Indian Penal CodeChapter XVI, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is a piece of legislation in India introduced during British rule of India that criminalises sexual activity "against the order of nature." The section was read down to decriminalise same-sex behaviour among consenting adults in a historic... - China lifted its ban on allowing persons with HIV to enter the country.
- Representatives from 30 Ministries of Health and 25 Ministries of Education in Latin America announced that their strategy for preventing HIV would be to prioritize HIV prevention education and sex education in schools.
- Merck & Co.Merck & Co.Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...
announced that it would cut the price of efavirenzEfavirenzEfavirenz is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor and is used as part of highly active antiretroviral therapy for the treatment of a human immunodeficiency virus type 1....
in Mexico by 40%, making the price per patient move from 777 pesos (USD $77.50) to 468 pesos (USD $46), and on raltegravir by 30%, making the monthly price change from 9050 pesos (USD $903) to 6850 (US $683) - Spanish Vice President María Teresa Fernández de la VegaMaría Teresa Fernández de la VegaMaría Teresa Fernández de la Vega Sanz, LLD is a Spanish Valencian Socialist politician. From 18 April 2004 to 20 October 2010, she was the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Presidency and Cabinet Spokesperson in the government of Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero...
announced that Spain was contributing €10.2 million to UNAIDS, of which €3 million would go to IAVIInternational AIDS Vaccine InitiativeThe International AIDS Vaccine Initiative is a global not-for-profit, public-private partnership working to accelerate the development of vaccines to prevent HIV infection and AIDS. IAVI researches and develops vaccine candidates, conducts policy analyses, serves as an advocate for the field and...
and €1.5 million will go to the IPMInternational Partnership for MicrobicidesThe International Partnership for Microbicides or IPM is a non-profit product development partnership founded by Dr. Zeda Rosenberg in 2002 to prevent HIV transmission by accelerating the development and availability of a safe and effective microbicide for use by women in developing...
. - The Spanish government announced that its National Health System would now include of lipoatrophyLipoatrophyLipoatrophy is the term describing the localized loss of fat tissue. This may occur as a result of subcutanous injections of insulin in the treatment of diabetes, from the use of human growth hormone or from subcutanous injections of Copaxone used for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. In the...
treatment. - The Coalition of First Ladies and Women Leaders of Latin America on HIV announced their commitment to eliminating the vertical transmissionVertical transmissionVertical transmission, also known as mother-to-child transmission, is the transmission of an infection or other disease from mother to child immediately before and after birth during the perinatal period. A pathogen's transmissibility refers to its capacity for vertical transmission...
of HIV and syphilisSyphilisSyphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
by 2015.
James Chin
James Chin
James Chin is a public health epidemiologist. He works in public health surveillance and prevention of communicable diseases, particularly AIDS.-Career:...
argued that the conference's efficacy was hindered by attendee's practice of political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
. Specifically he said that sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
's HIV prevention
HIV prevention
HIV prevention refers to practices done to prevent the spread of HIV. HIV prevention practices may be done by individuals to protect their own health and the health of those in their community, or may be instituted by governments or other organizations as public health policies.-1980s:The Centers...
programs were being harmed by the incorrect idea that poverty and discrimination rather than risky sex were the forces to be targeted when combating the spread of HIV. In places other than Africa, Chin stated that prevention programs should focus on gay men, injecting drug users, and sex workers and their clients because these groups are at highest risk of contracting HIV.