The 2010 International AIDS Conference will be held in Vienna, the International AIDS Society announced last week, and will have a special focus on the growing HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe.
According to UNAIDS an estimated 150,000 people in Eastern Europe and Central Asia were newly infected with HIV in 2007, bringing the number of people living with HIV in the region to 1.6 million. This compares with 630,000 in 2001, an increase of 150%.
The conference, held every two years, attracts around 25,000 delegates and is one of the most important events in the global scientific and activist calendar. This year’s conference will be held in Mexico City from August 2nd to 7th, and will have a particular focus on Latin America.
Vienna was selected ahead of Istanbul and Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, to host the conference. The city of Vienna has been ranked as the world’s leading international conference destination three years running by the International Congress and Convention Association.
Candidate cities were evaluated by the IAS Governing Council according to three criteria: impact on the epidemic, sufficient infrastructure, and freedom of movement and travel for people living with HIV/AIDS. According to a policy of non-discrimination first adopted by the IAS Governing Council in 1992, the Society will not hold its conferences in countries that restrict short term entry of people living with HIV/AIDS, and/or require prospective HIV-positive visitors to declare their HIV status on visa application forms or other documentation required for entry into the country.
AIDS 2010 will be held from 18 to 23 July 2010 at the Reed Messe Wien.