The 14th European AIDS Conference

Brussels hosted the 14th European AIDS Conference this year, on 16 – 19th October 2013, where the IFGH and other Irish institutions were well represented in presenting and facilitating the event.

AIDS is not often associated with Europe, yet – according to estimates by UNAIDS and the WHO – there were 2.3 million Europeans living with AIDS in 2011.

Indeed, rates of HIV, injecting drug use, tuberculosis and hepatitis C continue to rise in Eastern Europe – and has began to be labelled a ‘quadruple epidemic’. It is the only area of the world where deaths from AIDS are still rising. At the same time, only 30% of people in need of HIV treatment can access it.

According to the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy on HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Professor Michel Kazatchkine: “If the epidemic in eastern Europe is not brought under control, it will be the governments of the region who will bear responsibility for the human tragedy that is unfolding in their countries.”

Details of sessions with Irish institutions and individuals can be found here.

Webcasts of the sessions are available here.

• CHECK-OUT: the statistics of HIV and AIDS in Europe
• LISTEN: Europe has full blown AIDS