UNICEF to organize international AIDS conference 2012

By Hurma Khan Jul 23rd, 2012 ( 1 Comment )

Washington: International AIDS conference 2012 is to be held by global HIV and AIDS community experts in Washington DC from today onwards to 27th July. The nineteenth conference undoubtedly, a pivotal moment to take stock of responses and to meet the HIV-specific targets of Millennium Development Goal 6.

The global plan towards the elimination of of new HIV infections among children by 2015, keeping their mothers alive, accelerated some sort of progress and lifted the momentum internationally, however, exceptional efforts are still needed to achieve these goals in 22 countries, seemed as being home to nearly 90% pregnant women living with HIV in dire need of services.

The conference is being conducted by UNICEF, under supervision of Craig McClure, UNICEF Chief of HIV/AIDS, Program Division and Dr. Chewe Luo, Senior adviser on HIV and AIDS for UNICEF. Several other experts are also invited from various countries and will be available throughout the conference to discuss innovations on mother to child transmission of HIV needed to reach the goal of an AIDS-free generation by 2015.

Innovations to eliminate new HIV infection among children is regarded in terms of technologies and programmatic approaches are central to realize the ambitious targets of global plan.

Within a week-long conference, UNICEF will also host events highlighting HIV/AIDS and children. Moreover, the conference will come up with several different themes every day.

On 24th July, Tuesday, UNICEF along with MTV will organize screening of Shuga, a television and radio series developed for youth and adolescents to spread HIV awareness. Under the scheduled program “UNICEF participation in daily plenaries” at the Walter Washington Convention Center, two sessions including;“turning the tide for women and girls”,and “turning the tide for children and youth”, will be scheduled on 25th July, Wednesday. However, in another decided program “Global Village – Disability Networking Zone” will also be held in the same day in the evening. It will help developing a source book for the inclusion of adolescents with disabilities in HIV prevention initiatives.