International AIDS Society#Conferences

The IAS is a non-profit organization founded in 1988, with a mandate to organize the International AIDS Conference. Initially, the IAS headquarters were in Stockholm, and Lars-Olof Kallings was the secretary general from 1988 until 2003.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

In 2004, the IAS restructured its organization, expanded the number of professional staff and moved the headquarters to Geneva. The move was intended to strengthen organizational links with other health NGOs and (United Nations) multilateral agencies.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

The IAS is an advocacy body, using its large membership base and scientific leadership to drive action. It is the world's largest association of HIV professionals, with 11,600 members from over 170 countries {{as of|lc=yes|July 2020}}. Among its members are researchers, clinicians, people living with HIV, community advocates, policy makers and others.{{cite web|url=https://www.iasociety.org/Web/WebContent/File/IAS_Annual_Report_0707_20192020.pdf|title=International AIDS Society Annual Report 2019-2020|publisher=International AIDS Society|date=July 2020|access-date=2020-10-21|archive-date=2020-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925174216/https://www.iasociety.org/Web/WebContent/File/IAS_Annual_Report_0707_20192020.pdf|url-status=dead}}

Since August 2022, the president of IAS is Sharon Lewin, who is also the Director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, in Melbourne, Australia.{{Cite web |title=A case for optimism and what it will take to overcome HIV |url=https://www.iasociety.org/news/case-optimism-and-what-it-will-take-overcome-hiv |access-date=2022-08-03 |website=www.iasociety.org |language=en}} The previous IAS President was Adeeba Kamarulzaman (since July 2020) of Malaysia,{{cite web | title=Adeeba Kamarulzaman of Malaysia announced as the first Asian President of IAS – the International AIDS Society | website=iasociety | url=http://www.iasociety.org/The-latest/News/ArticleID/249/Adeeba-Kamarulzaman-of-Malaysia-announced-as-the-first-Asian-President-of-IAS-%E2%80%93-the-International-AIDS-Society | access-date=21 October 2020 | archive-date=20 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120044604/https://iasociety.org/The-latest/News/ArticleID/249/Adeeba-Kamarulzaman-of-Malaysia-announced-as-the-first-Asian-President-of-IAS-%E2%80%93-the-International-AIDS-Society | url-status=dead }} who succeeds Anton Pozniak. Kevin Osborne is executive director. Past presidents have included Helene D. Gayle, Joep Lange, Peter Piot, Linda-Gail Bekker, Chris Beyrer and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi.{{cite web| title=Looking back with the IAS presidents [1998–2016]| website=IAS| url=https://www.iasociety.org/Who-we-are/IAS-25-years/IAS-Presidents| access-date=21 October 2020| archive-date=5 March 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305132323/https://www.iasociety.org/Who-we-are/IAS-25-years/IAS-Presidents| url-status=dead}}

File:Global Village at 2012 International AIDS Conference.JPG

The International AIDS Conference (abbreviated AIDS 2012, AIDS 2014 and so on) is the world's most attended conference on HIV and AIDS, and the largest conference on any global health or development issue in the world.2008 UNAIDS Annual Report, p.13, WHO First convened during the peak of the AIDS epidemic in 1985, they were held annually until 1994 when they became biennial. Each conference continues to provide a unique forum for the intersection of science, advocacy and human rights, as well as to strengthen policies and programmes that ensure an evidence-based response to the epidemic.

The 5th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 1989) in Montreal, Canada, from June 4 to 9, 1989, saw activists from ACT UP and its Canadian counterparts, AIDS Action Now! and Réaction-SIDA, raise awareness about HIV/AIDS challenges. Their disruption challenged the AIDS community's hierarchy, advocating for more activism and advocacy in scientific circles. Notably, Canadian activists protested the lack of a federally funded AIDS strategy, while US activists condemned the US travel ban on people living with HIV, among other issues.{{cite journal |last1=Duffin |first1=J. |date=1994 |title=AIDS, memory and the history of medicine: musings on the Canadian response |journal=Genitourinary Medicine |volume=70 |issue=1 |pages=65 |doi=10.1136/sti.70.1.64 |pmid=8300104 |pmc=1195183 }}{{cite news |title=AIDS Conference |url=https://aidsactivisthistory.omeka.net/items/show/158 |publisher=An AIDS ACTION NEWS! |first=George |last=Smith |date=1988 |website=AIDS Activist History Project |issue=5 |access-date=10 January 2024}}{{Cite web|date=2016-10-13|title=Montreal Interviews|url=https://aidsactivisthistory.ca/interviews/montreal-interviews/|access-date=2022-01-27|website=AIDS Activist History Project|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Goldberg|first=Ron|date=July 1, 1998|title=When PWAs First Sat at the High Table |url=https://actupny.org/documents/montreal.html |publisher=POZ}}

The 16th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2006) was held in Toronto, Canada, on August 13 to 18, 2006. The theme for the conference was "Time to Deliver."{{Cite web |title=The 16th International AIDS Conference |url=https://www.iasociety.org/sites/default/files/Conference%20reports%202011/AIDS%202006%20Evaluation%20report.pdf |publisher=International AIDS Society |access-date=10 January 2024}}{{cite journal |last1=Gayle |first1=Helene |last2=Wainberg |first2=Mark A |title=The 16th International Conference on AIDS: Will It Leave a Legacy? |journal=Journal of the International AIDS Society |date=19 April 2007 |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=15 |doi=10.1186/1758-2652-9-2-15 |pmid=19825139 |pmc=2758903 |doi-access=free }}

The 22nd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018) was held in Amsterdam on 21 to 27 July 2018. Primary topics of note included: Use of dolutegravir as an antiretroviral medication was reported to result in increased rates of birth defects where the brain and spinal cord have openings (neural tube defects). Particularly of note was that an HIV infected person on treatment with undetectable virus does not spread it to an uninfected partner.{{Cite web |title=The 22nd International AIDS Conference |url=https://www.aids2018.org/ |publisher=International AIDS Society |website=AIDS 2018 |access-date=10 January 2024}}{{cite journal|last1=Zash|first1=Rebecca|last2=Makhema|first2=Joseph|last3=Shapiro|first3=Roger L.|title=Neural-Tube Defects with Dolutegravir Treatment from the Time of Conception|journal=New England Journal of Medicine|year=2018|volume=379|issue=10|pages=979–981|issn=0028-4793|doi=10.1056/NEJMc1807653|pmid=30037297|pmc=6550482}}{{Cite news |url=https://mic.com/articles/190405/partner-2-hiv-transmission-study-results |title=HIV-positive people with undetectable viral loads cannot transmit the disease, study shows |access-date=2018-07-24 |language=en }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-07/24/c_137343649.htm|title=AIDS 2018 opens in Amsterdam with focus on putting HIV response back on track - Xinhua {{!}} English.news.cn|website=www.xinhuanet.com|access-date=2018-07-24}}

The 23rd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2020) was held virtually on July 6 to 10, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The theme for the conference was "Resilience."{{Cite web |title=The 23rd International AIDS Conference Virtual |url=https://www.aids2020.org/theme-and-objectives/ |publisher=International AIDS Society |website=AIDS 2020 |access-date=10 January 2024}}

The 24th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2022), held both in Montreal and virtually from July 29 to August 2, 2022, centered around the theme "Re-engage and Follow the Science." At this conference, the Canadian Health Minister announced a significant investment of $17.9 million to enhance HIV testing accessibility, with a specific focus on priority populations in northern, remote, or isolated (NRI) communities within Canada.{{cite web |title=The 24th International AIDS Conference Montreal |url=https://aids2022.org/ |publisher=International AIDS Society |website=AIDS 2022 |date=29 July 2022 |access-date=10 January 2024 }}{{cite web |title=Government of Canada is making HIV testing more accessible across Canada |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2022/08/government-of-canada-is-making-hiv-testing-more-accessible-across-canada.html |publisher=Public Health Agency of Canada |date=1 August 2022 |access-date=10 January 2024 }}

The IAS also organizes the IAS Conference on HIV Science (abbreviated IAS 2013, IAS 2015 and so on) (formerly called the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention). This conference, the largest open scientific conference on HIV- and AIDS-related issues, occurs biennially and focuses on the biomedical aspects of HIV. The conference brings together professionals from around the world to examine the latest scientific developments in HIV research, prevention and treatment with a focus on moving science into practice and policy. It was held in Buenos Aires in 2001, Paris in 2003, Rio de Janeiro in 2005, Sydney in 2007, Cape Town in 2009, Rome in 2011, Kuala Lumpur in 2013, Vancouver in 2015, Paris in 2017, Mexico City in 2019, and Brisbane in 2023. The event was held virtually in 2021.{{Cite web|title=IAS 2021 official press release|url=https://www.ias2021.org/ias-2021-official-press-release/|access-date=2021-09-27|website=IAS 2021|language=en-US}}

The conference was called the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention until a name change after 2015.

The society financially supports the publication of the Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS), an online, open-access, peer-reviewed medical journal covering all aspects of research on HIV and AIDS.

The IAS Online Resource Library is an online collection of abstracts and other resources from international conferences, as well as numerous other materials produced by the IAS launched in January 2010.

The IAS works with other regional HIV/AIDS societies and networks to strengthen the capacity of HIV professionals to respond to the epidemic at the regional level. The society runs the Industry Liaison Forum, whose mission is to remove barriers to research investment by the pharmaceutical industry in resource-limited settings. The IAS also provides professional development and training opportunities for HIV professionals at both international and regional AIDS conferences through its education programme.

{{Commons category|International AIDS Conference}}

• {{Official website|http://www.iasociety.org/}}
• [http://ias2019.org/ IAS 2019 in Mexico City, Mexico]
• [http://www.aids2018.org/ AIDS 2018 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands]

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Category:HIV/AIDS organizations

Category:Organizations established in 1988

Category:Organisations based in Geneva

Category:International professional associations

Category:International organisations based in Switzerland