Peter Benjamin and Jalal Ghiassi-Razavi recently attended the 3rd South African National Aids Conference, held in Durban, South Africa from the 5th – 8th June 2007.

Over 5000 people from the continent attended the conference, themed “Building Consensus on Prevention, Treatment and Care”. The conference objectives were to build a broad consensus within South Africa on translating the interventions planned in the National Strategic Plan (NSP) for HIV/Aids, into action. It was great to see the contribution and commitment of the participants.

When addressing the delegates, the conference chairperson, Dr Olive Shisana, was noted as saying:

“The government is providing leadership, financial and human resources needed to effectively prevent new infections, and treat and care for those who are infected and affected. The scientists, academics and non-governmental organisations, donors and activists now have to seize the opportunity and space the government has provided to contribute meaningfully to the achievement of the goals and objectives set in the HIV and Aids NSP. The scientists have the capacity to collectively translate scientific evidence into effective interventions to prevent new HIV infections. They can work side by side with civil servants to train them to implement these new interventions. The activists can mobilise communities to ensure uptake of the interventions. The donors can contribute funds to support implementation, research, monitoring and evaluation.”

Please visit the conference website for further details on the abstract listings and presentations.