Rwanda to host 2025 HIV Science Conference

The International AIDS Society (IAS) has announced the host country for its 2025 HIV Science Conference. In a press release, copied to Ghana Business News, the IAS says that on 13^th In this edition of the conference, the largest scientific conference on HIV will be held in Kigali, Rwanda.

The dates are set for July 14-17, 2025, he said, adding that pre-meetings will be held on July 13.

One of the main reasons for choosing Rwanda, organizers say, is that most Africans can travel to the country without a visa.

The IAS Conference on HIV Science is the world’s most influential meeting on HIV research and its applications, organizers say.

According to the statement, the IAS Executive Board, with recommendations from its representative Conference Committee, selected Kigali as the host city for IAS 2025 after evaluating factors including Rwanda’s proven track record as a hub for international meetings and conferences, its world-class convention center and the fact that African citizens from across the continent can enter Rwanda without a visa.

IAS President-Elect and International President of IAS 2025, Beatriz Grinsztejn, commented: “IAS 2025 will serve as a critical reflection point to collectively take stock of how and in what ways advances in HIV science can be expanded and accelerated.” to end AIDS. as a threat to public health.

“With only five years left to meet the 2030 targets, it is critical that the global HIV scientific agenda advances further in support of a more equitable response to HIV. “This conference provides a powerful platform for researchers, advocates, communities and policymakers to drive that response together,” he added.

“Hosting the IAS Conference on HIV Science allows us to showcase Rwanda’s evidence-based approach to ending AIDS,” said IAS 2025 local president Jeanine Umutesi Condo. “Rwanda is one of the few countries that has achieved the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets (seven years ahead of the target) which require that 95% of all people living with HIV know their HIV status, 95 “% of all people diagnosed with HIV will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and that 95% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will be virally suppressed by 2030. We are proud to have this opportunity to share this extraordinary success story with the world.”

While at least 16 other African countries are close to achieving the 95-95-95 targets, Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Africa continues to be home to 65% of all people living with HIV.

“Three decades after the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, Rwanda has gone from being one of the poorest countries in the world to a leader in global health and development,” said Rwandan Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana.

“To end HIV as a public health threat, we must invest in effective prevention, including addressing the inequalities that continue to put women at greater risk than men of contracting HIV. Our history has taught us the critical importance of agile and customized approaches,” added Nsanzimana.

The IAS says it will provide hundreds of scholarships and offer deeply discounted registration fees for young people and those from low-income countries, in addition to providing free online access to all key conference sessions two months after the conference, to expand even more access to the conference.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi