Kobe to Host ICAAP 2005

Congress aims to bridge scientific and community efforts on AIDS

October 2004—The Seventh International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (7th ICAAP) will be held in Kobe, Japan, 1–5 July, 2005. Reflecting its aim of further integrating the efforts of dedicated community groups and committed scientists at work in the Asia-Pacific region, the theme of the Congress will be “Bridging Science and Community.”

The year 2005 marks an important milestone in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. The Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, adopted in 2001 at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS), called on member states to report next year on their progress in implementing anti-AIDS strategies and achieving their stated goals. In addition, the WHO/UNAIDS “3 by 5” initiative is aimed at providing antiretroviral treatment to 3 million people in developing countries by 2005. The 7th ICAAP represents an excellent opportunity to assess the progress of these commitments and to call all responsible to account, as well as to set new goals and workable ways of achieving them.

As was made clear at the International AIDS Conference in Bangkok in July, Asia stands on the brink of an explosive HIV/AIDS epidemic. The 7th ICAAP will continue the momentum gained in Bangkok toward shifting the regional response from commitment to solid action. The program will include representatives from each of the communities that make up the Coalition of Asia-Pacific Regional Networks on HIV/AIDS (Seven Sisters), which is sponsoring the Congress. Representatives from UNAIDS, ICAAP cosponsor, as well as political, scientific, and community leaders from the region, will also be featured in the program.

Further details on the 2005 Congress will appear in the January 2005 edition of the TREAT Asia Report. For more information, visit www.icaap7.jp or send an e-mail to info_icaap7@secretariat.ne.jp.