AIDS CONFERENCE  2010

When: July 18 - July 23 2010

Where: Reed Messe Wien, Messeplatz 1, Vienna

Please join us for the following UNODC events at AIDS 2010!

Detention centres
for drug users

HIV and AIDS in
prison settings in Brazil

HIV Risks and Compulsory
Centres forDrug Users

Opiod substitution therapy
saves lives- it's official!

Target setting session
on injecting drug users

HIV in prisons:
partnership networks

HIV prevention in Prisons

Paving the way to zero
new HIV infections

Situation and needs
assessment in prison

UNODC at
'Global Village'

Sessions and events overview

 

The International AIDS Conference is the premier gathering for those working in the field of HIV, as well as policy makers, persons living with HIV and other individuals committed to ending the pandemic. It is a chance to assess where we are, evaluate recent scientific developments and lessons learnt, and collectively chart a course forward.

Given the 2010 deadline for universal access set by world leaders, AIDS 2010 will coincide with a major push for expanded access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. With a global economic crisis threatening to undermine public investments, the conference will help keep HIV on the front burner, and is a chance to demonstrate the importance of continued HIV investments to broader health and development goals. AIDS 2010 is also an opportunity to highlight the critical connection between human rights and HIV; a dialogue begun in earnest in Mexico City in 2008.The selection of the AIDS 2010 host city is a reflection of the central role Vienna has played in bridging Eastern and Western Europe, and will allow for an examination of the epidemic's impact in Eastern Europe.

The AIDS 2010 programme will present new scientific knowledge and offer many opportunities for structured dialogue on the major issues facing the global response to HIV. A variety of session types - from abstract-driven presentations to symposia, bridging sessions and plenaries - will meet the needs of various participants. Other related activities, including the Global Village, satellite meetings, exhibitions and affiliated events, will contribute to an exceptional opportunity for professional development and networking. Following the success of the pilot programme at AIDS 2008, the XVIII International AIDS Conference will provide or facilitate hubs (centres) where selected sessions of the conference will be screened, to increase the access to the conference programme.

 

Source: AIDS 2010 http://www.aids2010.org/Default.aspx?pageId=169

 

For more information about the location of the conference, please see http://www.messe.at/en/index.html

 

UNODC on HIV and AIDS

UNODC also provides support to countries in developing and implementing HIV and AIDS prevention and care programmes in prison settings. This includes pretrial detention centres and closed institutions for juveniles in conflict with the law. UNODC is the custodian of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and assists States in implementing international standards and United Nations resolutions that demand that all inmates have the right to receive health care, including HIV and AIDS prevention and care, without discrimination and equivalent to that available in the community.

In addition, UNODC is strengthening the ability of States to provide essential HIV and AIDS prevention and care services to persons vulnerable to human trafficking.

Young people and women who are also injecting drug users and/or in prison settings and/or persons vulnerable to human trafficking are among the most vulnerable groups within the mandate of UNODC, and specific interventions are being put in place to help protect these people.

What is being done

HIV and injecting drug use

Around ten percent of all new HIV infections worldwide are due to injecting drug use. But in some regions it's now the main route of HIV transmission - accounting for over 80 per cent of all HIV cases. Christian Kroll, UNODC Global Coordinator for HIV/AIDS, speaks about HIV and injecting drug use. (Duration: 5:20) [listen]

One of the most important lessons learned from two decades of work on HIV and AIDS is that prevention and care interventions need to be comprehensive and multisectoral to address the needs of often very diverse vulnerable populations. Projects using single and standalone interventions have little impact. Prevention and care have to go hand-in-hand and large-scale initiatives, such as those in the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 2006 (resolution 60/262), set the example.

In order to reverse the trends of existing HIV and AIDS epidemics and to prevent a new wave of epidemics, interventions must be comprehensive, based on evidence and scaled-up immediately. There is no time to lose and no need for pilot projects among injecting drug users and prison populations. Only if services reach the most vulnerable people can epidemics be prevented, halted and, in the best of cases, reversed.

UNODC, a co-sponsor of UNAIDS since 1999

UNAIDS brings together in the AIDS response the efforts and resources of 10 entities of the United Nations system. Based in Geneva, the UNAIDS secretariat works on the ground in more than 75 countries.

Established in 1994 by a resolution of the Economic and Social Council and launched in January 1996, UNAIDS is guided by a Programme Coordinating Board with representatives of 22 Governments from all regions and five representatives of non-governmental organizations, including associations of people living with HIV/AIDS.

The 10 UNAIDS co-sponsoring organizations, which together form the Committee of Cosponsoring Organizations, are:

The Committee of Cosponsoring Organizations meets annually.