AHF’s History at the International AIDS Conference

On July 20, the 25th International AIDS Conference (IAC), hosted by the International AIDS Society (IAS), will kick off in Munich, Germany, bringing together over 15,000 participants from around the world to share their research, advocacy, and knowledge on the HIV/AIDS epidemic to their peers.

AHF regularly attends conferences every two years in different cities. Past AHF participation at the event has included protests, marches, press conferences, abstract presentations, and interactive informational booths. These activities have involved AHF employees from the United States and all four global bureaus (Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean) who present AHF’s medical research projects, disseminate AHF’s local and high-level advocacy, and fights for what’s right.

The 2006 16th annual IAC in Toronto, Canada saw AHF marchers urge for “AIDS Drugs for Every Nation! Time To Deliver.” (Pictured left to right: Ged Kenslea, AHF Senior Director of Communications and Lori Yeghiayan, former AHF Communications Specialist.)

The IAC is the most influential global event hosted around HIV/AIDS, making it a critical time for AHF to fight for what we believe in on a stage that the whole world has eyes on. A prime example is the “AIDS Treatment Now” marches in Barcelona, Spain, in 2002 and Bangkok, Thailand, in 2004, where AHF participants organized large-scale demonstrations outside of the conference venues, gathering both people in the industry as well as locals to fight for high-income nations to fund HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and research, often acting alongside partners such as the AIDS Therapeutic Treatment Now (ATTN) coalition.

AHF President Michael Weinstein leads AHF staff, partners, and local community members in the “Access for All’ march urging accessible and affordable HIV drugs for Asia and the world at the 2004 15^th IAC in Bangkok, Thailand.

The conference also allows AHF staff to stage their cutting-edge healthcare research, journal articles, and experiments to fellow peers and for advocates to hold press conferences and panel discussions with fellow experts and leaders. Previous events have collaborated with officials from PEPFAR, the Global Fund, UNITE, and other prominent HIV/AIDS organizations and agencies.

AHF will showcase more than two dozen scientific abstracts at the AIDS2024 in Munich this month and host a compelling satellite session on AHF Ukraine’s resiliency and expansion during conflict and a #GreedyGilead press conference at the AHF booth. Representatives from each AHF Bureau will be at the booth to share our global initiatives with conference delegates and spread the ‘Love’ by distributing free condoms.

Herbert Fisher, AHF Director of Global Advocacy Operation, runs the AHF information booth to educate conference goers on AHF’s work at the 2010 18^th IAC in Vienna, Austria.

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