| International AIDS Conference |
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Over 25,000 people gathered in Toronto from August 13th – 18th for the 16th International AIDS conference. It is held ever 2 years and is the world’s largest gathering of people working on HIV/AIDS issues. The week prior to the conference, Christians from around the world gathered to share stories and encourage each other in the struggle against AIDS. There were special speakers including Canon Gideon Byamugisha, the first African priest to openly share his HIV status. The official opening of the conference had Canadian government officials, business leaders, actors and musicians all speaking out against HIV/AIDS. Some famous people who were speaking in workshops and sessions include Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Stephen Lewis and Richard Gere. “Time to Deliver”, was the conference theme this year. The global community has promised money and support for fighting AIDS worldwide but they have not followed through. Steven Lewis, the UN Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa said, ”Every minute lost in the struggle against the virus is a life lost.” Actually, every minute lost is 5 lives and 9 new lives infected. AIDS continues to kill over 8000 people a day. At any given time there were about 25 different sessions to choose from so there were many opportunities to learn. The program of activities and sessions was 487 pages long. One of the highlights of the conference was the discussion of 3 potential new means of reducing the spread of HIV. The first is a topical microbicide that can be applied by women before sexual intercourse. The second way is through male circumcision. There have been studies in Africa and Kenya that have shown significantly reduced rates of HIV infection among men who were circumcised. The third idea is to have a pre-exposure prophylaxis in the form of a drug that can be taken by people in a high-risk zone. To read the entire article, please click here . |
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