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On 3 August, the XVII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2008) opened, with scientists, community and political leaders urging resolute action and commitment on the part of all stakeholders.
In 2005, world leaders acting through the United Nations committed to the goal of providing universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support to all those in need by 2010. AIDS 2008 is a collective opportunity to evaluate progress towards this goal and identify strategies for accelerating prevention and treatment scale up. Central to these deliberations will be a discussion of how specifically to tackle the underlying drivers of HIV risk and vulnerability – including gender inequality, human rights violations and HIV-related stigma and discrimination. Another major topic to be explored is the importance of strengthening overall health systems in poor countries. (www.aids2008.org)
In advance of AIDS 2008, the UN Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) released the 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic. The report highlights specific examples of countries which are seeing changes in sexual behaviour followed by declines in the number of new HIV infections. Findings include increasing condom use among young people with multiple partners and encouraging signs that young people are waiting longer to have sexual intercourse in some of the most heavily affected countries. However, the report also shows that despite the declines in new HIV infections the AIDS epidemic is far from over and that rates of new HIV infections are rising in many countries. AIDS also continues to be the leading cause of death in Africa.
Following on from the June 2008 United Nations High-Level Meeting on AIDS, NGLS issued Roundup 134: June 2008 High-Level Meeting on AIDS: Moving into a Forward-Looking Phase. The Roundup reviews the outcomes of the Meeting, including a review of the Interactive Hearings with Civil Society and features interviews with some of the civil society participants
For more information pls visit: http://www.un-ngls.org
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