Archive by category | International AIDS conference

The devil is in the details

In recent weeks we’ve heard announcements about increases in funding towards the treatment HIV/AIDS. At the G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan last month, world leaders set the target of spending $60 billion over the next five years towards tackling a handful of diseases, including HIV/AIDS. And just last week US President George W. Bush reauthorized an augmented version of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which will is slated to supply $48 billion through 2013 to help fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa.  Read more

A question of rights

Posted on behalf of Roxanne Khamsi, News editor of Nature Medicine Heavy rain and traffic could not keep thousands of people from attending the opening session of the AIDS 2008 meeting here in Mexico City last night. There, in the massive auditorium, we heard rallying cries against HIV/AIDS from global leaders, including Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary general; Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO); and Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, president of Mexico. The speakers remained on message, echoing the theme of this year’s conference: a call for broader and more comprehensive treatments and prevention measures under the headline  … Read more

AIDS: Happy birthday, Mr. President

Political leaders rarely get warm fuzzies at these AIDS conferences. But this afternoon, a crowd of hundreds of activists and scientists melted like teenage girls at the sight of former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Prompted by conference co-chair Helene Gayle, the crowd serenaded Clinton, singing “Happy Birthday” to him after he delivered a wide-ranging speech on issues related to HIV and AIDS. Clinton turns 60 on Saturday.  Read more