Blog.AIDS.gov: Wrap-up from the International AIDS Conference in Vienna

Policy
July 24, 2010
0Wrap-up from the International AIDS Conference in Vienna
By Miguel Gomez, AIDS.gov Director and Michelle Samplin-Salgado, AIDS.gov New Media Strategist


Closing Session, XVIII International AIDS Conference Vienna, Austria
©IAS/Marcus Rose/Workers’ Photos
Today is the last day of the International AIDS Conference . Throughout the week we’ve had the pleasure of hearing key scientific outcomes along with policy and program updates from the meeting. We were encouraged by the expanded use of new media at the conference this year. For example, the IAC blog and tweets kept us up-to-date throughout the week. We ourselves used our blog, YouTube , Twitter , and Facebook pages to share updates with those who weren't able to attend the conference in-person. We also enjoyed meeting new media colleagues from around the world at tweet ups and other informal meetings.

The closing session concluded with Jack Whitescarver, Director for AIDS Research at the National Institutes of Health and Director of the Office of AIDS Research, receiving the first International AIDS Society’s Presentation Award. President Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton also shared a video message at the session, where they spoke about the U.S. commitment to HIV and welcomed the conference to Washington, DC in 2012 .

We have additional posts and videos from the conference that we will be sharing over the coming weeks. In the meantime, we encourage you to visit our blog and the AIDS 2010: Expanded Edition of the Kaiser Family Foundation Health Policy Report
Blog.AIDS.gov: Wrap-up from the International AIDS Conference in Vienna



Bringing the International AIDS Conference to DC in 2012
By Gregorio Millett (Cross-posted from the ONAP Blog, originally posted on July 23, 2010)

I have had the pleasure of participating in the 18th International AIDS Conference in Vienna this past week. As you may know, last week, President Obama held a reception at the White House to celebrate the work of the HIV/AIDS community as his Administration launched the first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy. The positive reaction to the Strategy and the energy of so many advocates, providers, and Federal officials to take the next step to implement the Strategy has been evident throughout the Vienna meeting. This has been just one part of what has made this conference so exciting and full of hope for me. In addition to many great oral sessions and poster sessions, the conference has been electrified by several major research breakthroughs with implications for vaccines to prevent HIV as well as microbicides to protect women from becoming infected by their male partners.

Today also marks the beginning of our collective work to maintain the momentum coming out of Vienna to ensure that at the next conference, in Washington, DC, we all have a solid record of new accomplishments. From the perspective of the United States government, the DC conference will be an important opportunity to showcase American leadership in working to end AIDS at home and around the world. I thought you would like to see the message from President Obama welcoming delegates to the Vienna conference to Washington, DC in July 2012.

Ending the HIV pandemic is an important challenge of our time and, for the first time in a long time, it feels like something that is within reach. I hope that we take another step towards this goal in DC two years from now.

Gregorio Millett is the Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of National AIDS Policy and he is representing the United States on the Conference Coordinating Committee (CCC) for the AIDS 2012 Conference.