Project profile — Support to the 23rd International AIDS Conference and the 11th Scientific Conference

This project supports the 23rd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2020) and the 11th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2021). The International AIDS Conference is the largest conference on any global health or development issue and brings together approximately 20,000 delegates every four years. The IAS Conference on HIV Science is the world’s most influential meeting on HIV research and brings together approximately 6,000 delegates every other year. The conference presents advances in basic, clinical and operational research to translate science into policy. AIDS 2020 was to occur in Oakland and San Francisco, USA, from July 6-10, 2020. However, they switched to a virtual format due to COVID-19 health measures and travel restrictions. IAS 2021 was to take place on 18-21 July 2021 in Berlin, Germany; however, due to COVID-19 health measures and travel restrictions, this event also switched to virtual in collaboration with a local partner hub in Berlin. As key platforms for engaging various stakeholders and beneficiaries at the intersection of science, advocacy and human rights, these conferences play an important convening role in enabling stakeholders to review progress and scientific evidence and to identify course corrections in science, policy and advocacy, to promote a human rights-based and gender-informed HIV response.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) increased collaboration and partnership in HIV programming, including global scientific and community collaborations in synergy with other health and development sectors; (2) enhanced political commitment and accountability among governments, donors, private sector and civil society for an inclusive, sustainable, multi-sectoral and adequately financed response; (3) HIV prevention, treatment and care policies and programmes that are informed by latest scientific evidence; and (4) HIV and AIDS research agendas and policies that reflect identified knowledge gaps across scientific, medical and implementation disciplines and in the context of programme implementation needs. The ultimate outcome of this initiative is to contribute to a reinvigorated, evidence-based response to HIV and AIDS

Results achieved by the IAS through the support of the Government of Canada and other international donors during the 23rd Annual International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2020) included: (1) improved information sharing and coordination between stakeholders to accelerate progress in the HIV response through science, research and policy; (2) increased visibility of the needs of key populations and other vulnerable populations; and (3) increased political commitment and resolve from governments, donors and the private sector for a more comprehensive HIV response. More than 13,000 participants from 176 countries tuned into the AIDS 2020 virtual conference, and more than 2,000 scholarships were awarded to attend the conference. Results achieved through the support of the Government of Canada and other international donors to the 11th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2021) included: (1) improved information sharing and coordination between stakeholders and accelerated basic science and clinical innovation for the development and application of person-centred, precision medicine for HIV, co-infections and co-morbidities and progress towards a vaccine and cure; (2) advancement of interdisciplinary collaboration in clinical research to improve integrated and holistic care across all life stages for HIV, co-infections and co-morbidities, including non-communicable diseases; and (3) increased knowledge of how HIV science interlinks with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and how both contributes to innovations in response to emerging pandemics and established infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis and viral hepatitis. Over 6,000 participants from 135 countries tuned in to the conference from around the world, and 644 scholarships were awarded to attend IAS 2021.