At its latest meeting, the UNGASS (United Nations General Assembly Special Session – on HIV/AIDS) stated its goal of scaling up treatment to 15 million people by 2015 (“15 by 15”). At the annual STD*HIV*SEX Conference on the 1st of December in Amsterdam, this was a main point of discussion during the workshop given by Stop Aids Now, International Civil Society Support (ICSS) and IDA Foundation.

Thirty years after the discovery of AIDS, many achievements have been made. There are currently 6.6 million patients on treatment; we have seen a reversal of infection rates in several regions. However, greater investments remain critical at a time when HIV/AIDS faces issues such as patents and stock outs, and it is vital that there is no drawback in financing of treatments.  

Pedro Esgueira, who presented during the workshop, looks back on a successful day: “Co-presenting together with STOP AIDS NOW and ICSS was very valuable. We were able to give insights relating to our field of expertise. As a supplier of essential medicines (including ARV’s) IDA was able to discuss bottlenecks in procurement, patents and stock outs, Louise van Deth from Stop Aids Now discussed treatment retrospectives, whereas Peter van Rooijen (ICSS) focused on funding.  We look forward to future partnerships within the HIV/AIDS environment.

We have no doubt that the international community has the tools to conquer this next milestone, and we will continue to work with our clients and partners to make of “15 by 15” a reality.” 

Presentations from the workshops can be found on the conference website: http://www.soaaidscongres.nl/congres-2011/presentaties-2011