For discussion of the development of Community Involvement in International AIDS Conferences, click here.
| Venue |
Year |
Theme |
# of participants (Approx.) |
Key Issues/Events |
| Atlanta, USA |
1985 |
none |
2,000 |
- Rapid spread of HIV globally
- Rise in heterosexual transmission
- New HIV test
- Potential for vaccines and treatments |
| Paris, France |
1986 |
none |
|
- Effective treatments still a way off; focus on strong and effective prevention
- Need for a global response to AIDS representatives from several African countries attended |
| Washington DC, USA |
1987 |
none |
7,000 |
- Social and political issues central
- No major research developments
- Activism increases
- Length of time needed for experimental treatments to go through the clinical trials system before being approved
- Protesters were met with violence by police wearing yellow gloves |
| Stockholm, Sweden |
1988 |
none |
|
- Better understanding of the structure of the virus
- “The Face of AIDS” sessions articulate for the first time within the Conference sessions the views of people living with HIV/AIDS
-
Quilt memorial displayed(International AIDS Society (IAS) formed to choose future meeting venues |
| Montreal, Canada |
1989 |
The Scientific and Social Challenges of AIDS |
|
- Rising rates of HIV infection amongst injection drug users
- Strong debate between public health officials calling for coercive measures to contain the spread of HIV and those advocating for a rights-based approach, especially when working with marginalized communities
- Needle exchange as an effective prevention measure
- First Community Forum held |
| San Francisco, USA |
1990 |
AIDS in the Nineties: From Science to Policy |
|
- Low levels of political commitment
-
USA’s policy to refuse visas to HIV+ individuals becomes milestone in political mobilization regarding this issue |
| Florence, Italy |
1991 |
Science Challenging AIDS |
8,000 |
- Protest against USA policy on immigration
- Advances in knowledge about how HIV infects cells
- Vaccines
-
New drug development |
| Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
1992 |
A World United Against AIDS |
11,000 |
- Originally to be held in Boston, USA, and moved to The Netherlands due to the USA’s ban on HIV+ people entering the country resulted in the decision to ban USA as a venue for IAC’s (this ban is still in effect)
- Fear of new human immunodeficiency viruses developing
-
Skills building sessions introduced |
| Berlin, Germany |
1993 |
none |
14,000 |
- Growing tensions: scientists vs activists, resource-poor countries vs the developed world and pharmaceutical companies vs people living with HIV/AIDS
- Treatment protocols and timing
- Long-term survival
- Results of the Concorde trial showed that AZT had no effect either alone or in dual combination
- The mood was pessimistic
-
ICASO (International Council of AIDS Service Organizations) became a conference co-organizer |
| Yokohama, Japan |
1994 |
The Global Challenge of AIDS: Together for the Future |
11,000 |
- First time IAC held in Asia
- Exponential rise of HIV in Asia
- Use of AZT to prevent mother-to-child transmission
- Connection between treatment, viral load and disease progression
- IAS re-structured to assume greater responsibility for future IACs
- Last annual IAC (held every 2 years after that) |
| Vancouver, Canada |
1996 |
One World, One Hope |
|
- Great optimism regarding the success of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART), also known as triple combination therapies or the “cocktail”
- “Community Aspects” part of the Conference led and shaped by community activists was a first
- Possibility that AIDS could be treated as a chronic, manageable disease
- UNAIDS and GNP+ (Global Network of People Living with HIV) became co-organizers |
| Geneva, Switzerland |
1998 |
Bridging the Gap |
13,000 (3,000 from developing countries) |
- Inequitable access to treatment
- First discussions held regarding forming a global funding mechanism
- Vaccine development
- “Geneva Principle” putting community on an equal footing with science
- Drug resistance, side effects and complications of treatment regimens
- Pharmaceutical companies targeted by activists
- ICW (International Community of Women living with HIV) became a co-organizer |
| Durban, South Africa |
2000 |
Break the Silence |
14,000 |
- Major turning point regarding the commitment to global treatment access
- Stigma and discrimination
- First time the IAC was held in the South and in Africa
- Impact of HIV/AIDS on women
- Lowering the cost of treatments and building healthcare infrastructure in developing countries
- Impact of HIV on children
- Durban Declaration affirming that HIV causes AIDS
- New track added dealing with rights, politics, commitment and action |
| Barcelona, Spain |
2002 |
Knowledge and Commitment for Action |
18,000 |
- “Barcelona Framework” – Integration of Science and Action; Barcelona Youth Force (first time youth organized in such a way)
- Goal of 3 million people in developing countries receiving anti-retroviral therapies by 2005 (3X5) was made concrete\
- Securing resources to scale up models which we know work;
- Heightened recognition that marginalization and stigma continue to define and shape the epidemic.
- Two new tracks: Track F (Interventions and Program Implementation); and Track G (Advocacy and Policy)
- Introduced second option for abstract submission that was more suitable to qualitative research and/or authors with less conference experience
- Novel 'Bridging Sessions' were also introduced to encourage discussion of issues from different perspectives, across tracks. The WALL started to foster skills exchange. |
| Bangkok, Thailand |
2004 |
Access for All |
19,000 |
- Access to prevention, care and treatment
- Increased youth participation Bangkok Youth Force
- Activism focused on USA’s conservative agenda (including PEPFAR funding and the ABC approach to prevention)
- Protection of patents and access to treatment
- Importance of leadership (political, economic, social)
- Inadequate funding of the Global Fund to fight HIV, TB and Malaria
- Abstract mentoring scheme piloted
- Leadership Programme and Global Village introduced |
| Toronto, Canada |
2006 |
Time to Deliver |
20,000 |
- New prevention technologies
- 25 years of AIDS
- Men who have sex with men (MSM) and other vulnerable populations
- Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GIPA)
- Global treatment scale up |
