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Dear 2019 IAS Youth Ambassadors, Thank you for your letter regarding your request for at least one young person (under the age of 26) to deliver a plenary presentation at all International AIDS Society (IAS) conferences. We were pleased to hear you were impressed that almost 40% of presenters were under 35 years old at the 10th IAS Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2019) in Mexico City. The IAS is strongly committed to ensuring active youth participation in our conferences and programmes, providi...

Later this week, French President Emmanuel Macron will host the Sixth Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund in Lyon, France. There, donors from around the world will pledge new funding in support of the Global Fund’s goal of helping the world get back on track towards ending AIDS, TB and Malaria. The importance of a robust replenishment cannot be underestimated. Since 2002, the Global Fund partnership has helped save 32 million lives and contributed to 18.9 million people on antiretrovir...

The International AIDS Society welcomes the announcement of Winnie Byanyima named as the new Executive Director of UNAIDS. A former parliamentarian in Uganda, Byanyima has served as Executive Director of Oxfam International since 2013. She is a globally recognized and respected champion for gender equality and poverty eradication, bringing decades of political leadership and expertise to this role. Byanyima assumes the leadership of UNAIDS at a pivotal moment in the HIV response - when gains i...

On behalf of the International AIDS Society (IAS), we, the officers and Regional Representatives of Asia and the Pacific Islands of the IAS Governing Council, express our grave concern regarding the anti-gay laws in Brunei Darussalam. From 3 April 2019, Brunei Darussalam will impose death by stoning as punishment for gay sex and adultery, as provided for in sections of the country’s Syariah Penal Code Order 2013. This comes against a backdrop of discrimination against gay and other men who hav...

The following text was delivered by the International AIDS Society President-Elect Adeeba Kamarulzaman at opening of Ministerial Segment of Session 62 of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. Of the 13 million people who inject drugs globally, about 10% or 1.7 million are living with HIV. The risk of HIV is 23 times higher for people who inject drugs than the general population. In 2019, we have the tools to prevent people who inject drugs from becoming HIV positive. Comprehensive evidence-based p...

The International AIDS Society (IAS) welcomes the bold goal set forth in US President Donald Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address to “eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years”. The US Department of Health and Human Services has since posted a factsheet detailing a goal of a 75% reduction in new HIV infections in the US over the next five years and at least a 90% reduction in the next 10 years. “Reaching this target is doable with the prevention and treatment tools ...

On behalf of the International AIDS Society (IAS), we, the IAS Governing Council Africa Regional Representatives, express our grave concern regarding the reported anti-gay initiative underway in Tanzania. On 31 October 2018, the Regional Commissioner for the capital city, Dar es Salaam, Paul Makonda, announced the creation of a task force to identify and arrest people suspected of being gay and he appealed to the public to identify and report them. This follows a broader pattern of arrests and ...

The International AIDS Society (IAS) congratulates Past IAS President Françoise Barré-Sinoussi for her election to the United States National Academy of Medicine. Françoise is one of 10 new international members of the National Academy of Medicine announced this week. The National Academy of Medicine is a non-profit entity chartered by the United States Congress to provide objective advice on health-related issues. Its reports are influential both in the US and globally. New members of the acad...

The International AIDS Society mourns the passing of Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, who died on Saturday in Switzerland at the age of 80. Annan played a pivotal role in the global awakening in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Annan played a key role in the unprecedented meeting of the United Nations Security Council in 2000, which recognized the HIV epidemic as a threat to global security. In 2001, Annan issued an urgent call for the creation of a global fund to fina...

The International AIDS Society (IAS) condemns the US Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a ban on travel to the United States by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries. As the IAS is the world’s largest association of HIV professionals, with more than 11,000 members from more than 180 countries working on all fronts of the global AIDS response, we know that this discriminatory policy prevents our members, including people living with HIV, from ensuring the free, unencumbered sharing ...