The TB and HIV co-epidemic in the spotlight at the 22nd International AIDS Conference
22 July 2018 | AMSTERDAM: The TB and HIV co-epidemic was in the spotlight at the 22nd International AIDS Conference, “Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges”, which took place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and was attended by more than 15,000 delegates. The World Health Organization delegation was led by the Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who opened the conference calling on delegates to harness the same energy and passion, and the same resources used to respond to HIV, in order to achieve universal health coverage, asserting that this is how we will defeat AIDS and build a healthier safer world for everyone, everywhere. This message is also essential for ending TB and ensuring people-centred care and prevention for all.
The AIDS conference was preceded by the TB2018 event, under the
theme “Bridging the TB and HIV Communities” which was well attended with a packed agenda, helping
to set the stage for the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on TB (UN HLM). The event highlighted the key scientific and
operational challenges related to prevention, diagnosis and
treatment, and to ending TB-related AIDS deaths. In her address
to TB2018 participants, Dr. Soumya Swaminatham, WHO Deputy
Director-General, provided examples on means to strengthen the
TB and HIV response in tandem with efforts to achieve universal
health coverage. Achieving universal health coverage to TB and
HIV prevention, diagnosis and treatment for people living with
HIV, and people-, rather than expert-centred, care, were
key themes interwoven throughout the week, as was the importance
of ensuring the community are equal partners at the table, and
included as part of planning and implementation. The
International AIDS Conference had more sessions and abstracts
focused on HIV-associated TB than previous years, including an
oral abstract session, TB and HIV: Double Trouble, and a symposia session, Coinfections: Old and new. Other areas of focus included access to particularly at-risk
populations such as people who use drugs, prisoners, and
migrants, as well as issues such as sustainable financing and
stigma. TB prevention among people living with HIV received
considerable attention, including a WHO-convened side event
on “TB preventive treatment among people living with HIV:
Time for Action!” which highlighted the barriers and opportunities for scaling up
TB preventive treatment among people living with HIV.
Participants from Brazil, India, Kenya, South Africa and Ukraine
shared experiences of scale-up, while key stakeholders such as
PEPFAR, the Global Fund, Unitaid and civil society provided
their perspectives on what can be done to support countries.
AIDS 2018 concluded with a keynote address from former US
President Bill Clinton, during a Special Session on TB entitled "Seizing the moment for TB: Current Challenges in
TB and HIV integration" and moderated by the UN
Secretary-General Special Envoy on TB, Eric Goosby. In his
address, Clinton appealed to conference delegates against
complacency and to continue funding commitments for HIV and TB
in the face of competing priorities, and for heads of state to
attend the UN HLM in September 2018.
The Roadmap of HIV/TB Sessions with links to their respective
presentations and videos of the sessions where available can be
found here.
AIDS 2018 PROGRAMME
WHO/UNHLMonTB
President of the General Assembly
Source:
WHO
