HealthNDevelopment magazine

Global news outlet

Mar. 14, 2018

San Francisco and Oakland in California chosen to host the 2020 international aids conference .


San Francisco and Oakland to host AIDS 2020 
 
The world’s largest HIV conference returns 30 years later to 
where the AIDS epidemic first emerged in the US

 – The International 
AIDS
 Society (IAS) has announced that San Francisco, California, in partnership with nearby Oakland, will host the 

23rd International AIDS Conference

 (
AIDS
2020
). This is 30 years after the event was held there at the height of the epidemic in the United States. 
AIDS
2020
 will take place on 6-10 July 
 and is expected to bring together more than 15,000 participants from around the world.
2020
13 March 2018 (Geneva, Switzerland)
“San Francisco is an inseparable part of the story of HIV/
,” Democratic Leader 
Nancy Pelosi 
AIDS
said. “It is fitting and deeply inspiring that advocates, researchers and survivors will return to the Bay Area for the 
2020
 International 
AIDS
Conference
.
“The people of San Francisco will never forget what it took to come from those darkest times, when many of us were going to two funerals a day, to a time when we are celebrating weddings and retirements of people with HIV.
, address the health effects of aging and antiretroviral therapy for long-term survivors and build on the success of San Francisco’s community-based model of care. Together, we can banish this disease to the history books to achieve an 
AIDS
-free generation.”
“We must all continue to act with urgency, vigilance and compassion to end the stigma associated with HIV/
AIDS
“The Bay Area has long been at the forefront of the 
 epidemic,” US Congresswoman 
said. “While San Francisco and Oakland emerged as an early epicentre of the crisis, these cities have also been a hub for 
 activism, research and community support.
AIDS
Barbara Lee 
“It’s fitting that with an end to 
 on the horizon, the International 
 will return to the Bay Area for the first time in 30 years.
AIDS
Conference
AIDS
AIDS
“As the federal representative to the East Bay and co-chair of the Congressional HIV/
AIDS
 Caucus, I am pleased that this 
 will shine a light on the groundbreaking HIV/
AIDS
 advocacy and research taking place in Oakland.”
conference
It was in San Francisco that a mysterious disease, later identified as 
, first emerged onto wide public awareness as a major issue in the early 1980s.
AIDS
AIDS
Conference
 (
AIDS
 1990), 
AIDS
was well on its way to becoming the main cause of death of Americans aged 25 to 44. By 1995, the city had the highest percentage of people infected with HIV in the US, and by far, most were gay or bisexual men. 
When the city hosted the 6th International 
Although Oakland is fewer than 7 kilometres from San Francisco, different social and economic conditions in several East and West Oakland neighbourhoods have contributed to notable racial/ethnic inequities in the HIV burden. In 2014, there were 3,275 people living with HIV in Oakland. African Americans accounted for more than half of all new diagnoses and Latinos about 20%. The rate of new HIV diagnosis among African Americans from 2012 to 2014 was three times higher than that for whites.
conference
 returns to the San Francisco and Oakland area,” 
Anton Pozniak
, IAS President-Elect and 
AIDS
2020
International Chair, said. “The significant role these two cities have played in the history of HIV in the US for the past 30 years is unparalleled.
“It is long overdue that the 
AIDS
2020
 serves as an apt metaphor for the global effort to end HIV – working together across political and social divides to achieve our goal of ending this pandemic.”
“The partnership of San Francisco and Oakland hosting 
Marsha Martin
, DSW, Community Convener of the Fast Track Cities-Get Screened Oakland and Coordinating Director of the Global Network of Black People Working in HIV, added. “However, our epidemic and the resources we’ve been able to bring to it have been radically different from San Francisco’s.
“Oakland is just across the bay from San Francisco,” 
“We are looking forward to furthering our partnerships with San Francisco, highlighting our collective progress, and sharing clinical and community leadership at 
AIDS
2020
.”
AIDS
2020
 in local partnership with the host city bid leaders--San Francisco Travel and San Francisco 
AIDS
 Foundation--and other bid committee members--University of California San Francisco, San Francisco Department of Public Health, Oakland Mayor's Office, and Alameda County Public Health Department."
"The IAS is organizing 
AIDS
Conference
 (
AIDS
 1987) in Washington D.C. The event returned to the city in 2012 after the Obama administration lifted the 20-year-old HIV travel ban that barred entry of people living with HIV or 
AIDS
 to the US.
The US also hosted the 3rd International 
The 21st International 
AIDS
Conference
 2016) was held in Durban, South Africa, and the 22nd International 
AIDS
Conference
 (
AIDS
 (
AIDS
 2018) will be held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 23-28 July 2018. For more information about the 
 story and the unique partnership between San Francisco and Oakland, visit 

www.aids2020.org

.
AIDS
2020

###

The mission of the International 
AIDS
Society (IAS) is to lead collective action on every front of the global HIV response through its membership base, scientific authority and convening power. Founded in 1988, the IAS is the world’s largest association of HIV professionals, with members from more than 180 countries working on all fronts of the global response to HIV. Together, we advocate and drive urgent action to reduce the global impact of HIV. The IAS is also the steward of the world’s two most prestigious HIV 
s: the International 
AIDS
Conference
 and the IAS 
 on HIV Science. For more information, visit 

www.iasociety.org

.
Conference
conference
About the International AIDS Society: 
About the IAS Conference on HIV Science: 
 on HIV Science is the largest open scientific 
conference
 on HIV- and 
-related issues. The 10th IAS 
Conference
AIDS
The IAS 
Conference
 on HIV Science (IAS 2019) takes place in Mexico City, Mexico, on 21-24 July 2019. More than 7,000 professionals from around the world are convening at IAS 2019 to examine the latest scientific developments in HIV-related research with a focus on moving science into practice and policy. IAS 2019 is organized by the International 
AIDS
 Society (IAS). For more information, visit 

www.ias2019.org

.  
About the International AIDS Conference: 
 is the largest gathering on HIV and 
 in the world. First convened during the peak of the 
 epidemic in 1985, it continues to provide a unique forum for the intersection of science, advocacy and human rights. Each 
conference
AIDS
AIDS
The International 
AIDS
Conference
 is an opportunity to strengthen policies and programmes that ensure an evidence-based response to the epidemic. The 
conference
 also serves as a focal point to intensify political and financial commitments to 
. The 22nd International 
 2018) will be hosted in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 23-27 July 2018, with the theme 
. For more information, visit 

www.aids2018.org

.  
Breaking Barriers Building Bridges
AIDS
Conference
 (
AIDS
AIDS
Media contact 
Mandy Sugrue
Communications Director

media@iasociety.org

Share this page