“We must start working together,” Professor Lynn Morris of South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Disease told the participants of South Africa’s Second National AIDS Conference on the evening of June 6th in her welcoming address to the meeting. Professor Morris is also the chairperson for the conference being held this week (June 7-10) in Durban.
Attendance up from last conference
There are more than 4,000 delegates in attendance this year, a 20% increase from the previous meeting almost two years ago. This is partly a reflection of the change in direction for the country which is confronted with the largest HIV-infected population in the world.
“Since we last met, our country has made significant advances in the fight against AIDS,” said Professor Morris. “The second South African AIDS Conference comes at a very opportune time when our national treatment programme has started and there is a feeling of optimism and hope.” In addition, she noted that there has been a dramatic increase in HIV awareness, more people are being tested for HIV, and the country has begun its first vaccine and microbicide trials. “Sadly, we are also seeing more deaths,” she added.
But, the most significant development is the comprehensive treatment programme, which, said Professor Morris “is one of the most ambitious AIDS treatment programmes in the world.”
Conference to examine lessons from early stages of ARV rollout
The conference programme reflects the new reality in South Africa, with six parallel tracts with presentations on basic and clinical sciences; epidemiology, prevention and public health; social and economic sciences; human rights and ethics; skills-building and satellite symposia. Also this year, there is a dedicated tract to best practices, as the country tries to formalise lessons learned from the early stages of the antiretroviral rollout.
“We will look at issues like how treatment programmes are progressing, where the successes lie, and what the obstacles are. Are patients compliant; in other words, are they taking medication regularly, in the correct doses and at the right times? We also have presentations of results of the programme in the poorer, rural areas as well as those in the private sector,” said Prof Morris.
There will also be a debate on when to start treatment; many question if initiating antiretroviral therapy on current guidelines (when there are symptoms of advanced disease or CD4 cell counts below 200 cells/mm3) is too late.
Professor Morris noted the theme of this year’s conference: Unity and Accountability. “Now more than ever we need to work together and share these challenges in order turn the tide on this epidemic,” said Morris. “We need to be accountable at all levels including on a personal level: to ourselves, our partners, and our family and friends.”
Focus on VCT
One of the hot topics at the conference will be voluntary HIV testing and counselling, as more than 80% of the South African population still do not know their HIV status. Most southern Africans do not seek testing or treatment until they have advanced AIDS and thus miss out on the full therapeutic benefits of antiretroviral therapy.
Some experts now question whether voluntary testing and counselling is appropriate to deal with an HIV prevalence that is now over 40% in some settings. Others feel that stigma is still too great and that access to services is not adequate enough to protect patients from human rights violations stemming from stigma and discrimination.
Regardless, more South Africans must be tested. The conference is doing its part to increase the uptake in testing, with a mobile clinic is set up at the conference to offer free HIV counselling and testing to all participants. Professor Morris urged all conference goers to use the service and to be open about their HIV status.
More reports from the 2nd South African AIDS Conference will be posted on www.aidsmap.com over the next week.
For more information on the conference, please visit the official website at http://www.sa-aidsconference.com/