Author: Julio Montaner
25 May 2010
The IAS’s Universal Access Now campaign is in full swing and with it a heightened level of activity and visibility for the IAS on the drive to build greater resources and support for access to HIV prevention, care, treatment and support.
With an online letter-writing campaign, the release of two significant policy papers, active participation in key meetings on the issue and a new blog, the IAS is acting on its commitment to move this agenda forward and keep our members and allies informed and engaged.
Robin Gorna and I participated in a high-level meeting convened by the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) in March to reignite the drive for universal access, and Robin also participated in the first meeting of the Global Fund replenishment in March in The Hague. I visited with our colleagues at UNAIDS to highlight the important role of treatment as prevention and to discuss the synergy between the drive for universal access and the Millennium Development Goals. I also spoke recently to staff at the U.S. National Institutes of Health regarding treatment as prevention at the invitation of Director Frances Collins. We’re also working hard to influence the discussions that take place in Muskoka and Toronto, Canada in June when the Group of Eight (G8) and Group of 20 (G20) convene their annual summits, and we hope to influence strong commitments in the communiques that come out of these meetings.
Please visit the Stronger Together blog regularly for updates on these key meetings – what happened and what’s next – and how you can continue to be an active partner in these efforts. Follow the IAS on Facebook and share our blog and Facebook posts with your networks. If our efforts to urge world leaders to recommit to universal access are to be effective, many, many voices must be heard.
These issues, of course, will be highlighted at AIDS 2010 and the array of plenary speakers and special session topics we have lined up will set the stage for important discussions and strategizing. I hope you have made plans to attend. If not, register and book your accommodations now. AIDS 2010 will be the pivotal event in a pivotal year in the global response to AIDS.
Julio Montaner
President
International AIDS Society