AFRAVIT will be hosting the 6th Francophone HIV/AIDS Conference in Geneva from March 25 to 29, attended by AIDS researchers, clinicians and activists from all over the French-speaking world. Now in its eighth year, the biannual event brings together delegates from North and South to share the latest on progress and challenges in the fight against the AIDS pandemic. Geneva, home of the major multilateral agencies engaged in this effort, is for once not neutral territory, in the context of the current crisis of rising healthcare and prevention needs in the least-developed nations. Organizers and delegates will undoubtedly make the most of the proximity of WHO, UNAIDS and Global Fund to express their fears and discontents, and remind those organizations of their responsibility for the health of millions worldwide.
It is noteworthy that the agenda includes just one paper in plenary session on the subject of program funding in countries in the southern hemisphere, and one can only hope that the solitary speaker will be able to draw a sufficiently eloquent picture of the grave state of affairs in West and Central Africa to rally delegates to the cause. Difficult in the circumstances to imagine even the possibility of an AIDS-free world… And yet there will surely be manifestations of hope and energy, a plethora of presentations and posters highlighting the struggle against the status quo, and the energy, creativity and courage of thousands of grassroots activists who despite challenging conditions still refuse to give up.
Looking beyond the need to solve institutional and financial crises in the fight against AIDS, zeGOgroup also hopes that the conference may be a reminder for health implementers in developing countries – program managers, healthcare workers, research scientists and affected populations alike - of their own responsibilities and the role they themselves have to play. There is a clear need for improved organization and coordination, as well as appropriate application of the tools of governance, for which both Global Fund and UNAIDS must also stand guarantors.