The 17th International Conference on AIDS and STI’s in
Africa (ICASA 2013), Africa’s largest AIDS Conference, will offer a unique
platform ahead of 2015 to assess progress and developments in relation to HIV
and AIDS.
ICASA will be held in Cape Town, South Africa from 7 – 11
December 2013 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).
This year’s ICASA is being held two years to 2015, the
target date for the UN Millennium Development Goals. ICASA will be important in
assessing the achievements made and the challenges ahead. The theme for ICASA
2013 is Now More than Ever: Targeting
Zero. This speaks directly to the message the 17th ICASA International
Steering Committee seeks to promote and is derived from the UNAIDS vision of
striving for: “Zero new HIV and TB infections. Zero discrimination. Zero
AIDS-related and TB deaths”.
The conference will be chaired by Professor Robert Soudre,
the President of the Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA) and co-chaired by Professor
Ian Sanne, the CEO of Right Care and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
at the University of the Witwatersrand.
“By drawing the world’s attention to HIV in Africa, where
the progress made since the International AIDS Conference in Durban in 2000 is
threatened by the global economic downturn, this ICASA is an opportunity to renew
the global commitment by donors, private sector, community leaders, media and
acedemia” says Co-chair Professor Ian Sanne.
“Our continent is at a crossroads, this is the time for
efficiency, innovation and pragmatic approaches to tackle the issues
surrounding HIV. About 10 000 of the world’s leading scientists, policy makers,
activists, government and civil society leaders are expected to join the
debate,” says Professor Robert Soudre Conference Chairperson.
The Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA), the custodian of
ICASA, and Dira Sengwe, the custodians of the South African AIDS Conferences
supported by the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD), are the lead
organizers of the 17th ICASA in Cape Town.