Second largest global meeting on HIV begins in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG

The second Global HIV Conference kicked off Tuesday in South Africa, where delegates will discuss how unprecedented innovations and technologies could help mitigate the HIV / AIDS epidemic.

"It is at this conference that we are devoting our energy to sharing innovative plans to end the HIV epidemic," Health Minister Zwelini Mkhize said at the opening of the conference. of the conference in Durban.

He said the country's ninth-grade conference discussed ways to prevent HIV transmission and also ensured that infected people received drugs and treatment.

"Let's not forget that we have about 7.1 million HIV-positive South Africans and 4.6 million under treatment," said Mkhize.

The minister said South Africa must act quickly to ensure that all people living with HIV receive treatment.

South Africa also has the largest number of HIV patients accessing treatment in the world.

"Similarly, we must ensure that those of us who are HIV-positive remain negative. This requires innovation and change, as the theme of this conference suggests, "he said.

"This biennial conference is the second largest HIV conference in the world. About 3,000 delegates attended, about a quarter of whom come from SADC (Southern African countries), Europe, the United States and other parts of the world, "presides. Refilwe Phaswana-Mafuya said in a statement.

She added that conference participants included scientists, policymakers, health practitioners, government officials and civil society, among others.

She said delegates will determine how current explosive and disruptive technologies can contribute to sustained efforts in HIV prevention, HIV testing, antiretroviral therapy (ART) participation and adherence.

Delegates will also discuss how technologies can trigger the development of new medicines, effectively use huge amounts of data, improve communication and service delivery, and ultimately end the epidemic.

The conference will end on June 14th.

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