IAS Annual Report 2013

The International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world’s leading independent association of HIV professionals Last year they celebrated twenty-five years of IAS commitment to overcoming HIV. In this quarter of a century the organization and the global response to the epidemic has gone a very long way by constantly evolving to best address the issues presented
by HI V and AIDS .

Nowadays thanks to antiretroviral treatments being HIV positive is no longer a death sentence in most countries. Globally, more and more people every year have access to these life-saving drugs. Also, science has recently delivered new prevention tools that have the potential to reverse the course of the epidemic.

Yet, more than three decades on from the discovery of the virus, too many people still do not have access to prevention and treatment and too many government policies continue to be based on discriminatory ideology rather than scientific evidence.

In 2013 the IAS went through an in-depth analysis aimed at understanding better in which areas the organization can make a stronger impact and how it can improve the way it carries out its activities. As a result, it was decided to focus on three key priorities in 2014: Key Affected Populations (KAPs) HIV Cure; and Paediatric HIV.

The IAS also decided to create a working group on co-infections that will in particular focus on hepatitis, tuberculosis and human papillomavirus. Finally, in June 2013, more than 5,000 participants gathered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to attend the 7th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2013).

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