HIV/AIDS summit returns to South Africa

By Hassan Isilow

DURBAN, South Africa (AA) - Campaigners and scientists gathered in South Africa on Monday, 16 years after a ground-breaking summit on HIV/AIDS drew attention to the massive toll the disease was taking on Africans.

The 2000 Durban conference helped improve access to life-saving treatment but UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned that improvements made since then could be at risk due to the high cost of drugs.

“We have to break down barriers for treatment,” he said. Ban also warned delegates that urgent action was needed to preserve the gains made against the pandemic.

“As a global community, we must move quickly and decisively towards achieving the targets that will help us finally bring this epidemic to an end,” he said.

The UN has set 2030 as the target to end the AIDS virus and the summit, which takes place at a different location every two years, is to focus on reaching those who still lack access to comprehensive HIV treatment, prevention, care and support.

According to the World Health Organization, there were 36.9 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide in 2014. Sub-Saharan Africa remains most severely affected with nearly one in every 20 adults living with HIV, accounting for nearly 70 percent of people living with HIV worldwide.

South Africa’s Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was optimistic delegates would commit to investing in research and development that could lead to a vaccine for HIV.

“This conference will challenge us as government and our partners to build quality health access for our people,” he said.

Declining funding is a major concern for campaigners, as is the disease's growing resistance to anti-retroviral drugs.

The 18,000 delegates were expected to honor former President Nelson Mandela, who spoke at the 2000 conference, on Nelson Mandela International Day.