Melbourne to host major AIDS forum
Melbourne in Australia will host a major conference on HIV and AIDS in 2014, the International AIDS Society (IAS) said on Tuesday.
Up to 25,000 delegates will discuss progress made in battling the epidemic and future policy plans at the 20th International AIDS Conference, the largest forum on AIDS-related science.
The summit held every two years is organised by the Geneva-based IAS, an association of HIV professionals, and will take place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in July 2014.
"The IAS is extremely pleased to partner with the City of Melbourne, the State Government of Victoria, the Federal Government of Australia and with various scientific and community leaders from the host country as well as from Asia and the Pacific with a long and impressive history of leadership on HIV," said conference chairwoman Francoise Barre-Sinoussi ahead of World AIDS Day on Thursday.
The 2012 gathering will be held in Washington.
The number of people living with HIV currently stands at about 34 million, according to the latest UN figures.
In 2010, 1.8 million deaths were linked to AIDS, down from a peak of 2.2 million last seen in 2006.
(c) 2011 AFP
