The 2008 HIV/AIDS Implementers' Meeting opened on Tuesday in Kampala, Uganda, and is expected to bring together 1,700 participants to discuss ways to bolster the global response to the disease, the New Vision/AllAfrica.com reports.
This year's conference -- which has the theme, "Scaling Up Through Partnerships: Overcoming Obstacles to Implementation" -- aims to share lessons learned in the fight against HIV/AIDS with a focus on increasing prevention, treatment and care. The conference also aims to build local capacity and bolster coordination between partners. Participants will focus on several issues, including human capacity development, connecting people with resources, coordination, integrating services, and the impact of monitoring and evaluation. In addition, the conference will focus on developing future directions for HIV/AIDS programs by focusing on implementation, identifying barriers and integrating best practices.
"Through presentations, dialogue and networking, participants expect to share information that will directly impact HIV/AIDS programs in the coming years," James Kigozi, spokesperson for the Uganda AIDS Commission, said. Conference participants include Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot, Ambassador and President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Administrator Mark Dybul and Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine. The five-day meeting is sponsored by PEPFAR, the Global Fund, UNAIDS, UNICEF, the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS. The first implementers' meeting was held last year in Rwanda (Ouma/Baguma, New Vision/AllAfrica.com, 6/1).