The 23rd International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) begins in Accra today.
More than 3,000 delegates from 85 countries are expected to attend Africa's biggest conference on AIDS and STIs, which is being hosted by Ghana for the first time.
The President, John Dramani Mahama, is expected to open the five-day conference on the theme: "Africa in action: Catalysing integrated sustainable responses to end AIDS, TB and Malaria.”
It is organised by the Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA). The participants include mobilised leadership, scientists, policymakers, activists and communities.
Among issues to be discussed are the far-reaching impact of HIV and advocating sustainable solutions to fill the gap left by the withdrawal of critical AIDS funding.
Addressing journalists at the launch of the conference in Accra yesterday, the Director of ICASA and Coordinator of SAA, Luc Armand Bodea, said usually, about 15,000 delegates attended the conference, but the global decline in funding had made it difficult for some delegates to attend.
The Secretary-General of SAA, Dr Aliou Sylla, urged the media to help disseminate information about the conference since it was all about sharing best experiences.
The Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Prosper Akanbong, said hosting the conference for the first time offered Ghana a great opportunity to showcase its health system and also learn from the experiences of other countries.
Integration
The World Health Organisation Ghana Representative, Dr Fiona Braka, called for an end to the traditional siloed approach to HIV, TB and malaria, adding that they must seamlessly be integrated at every primary health facility and delivered by empowered community workers.
She explained that inequality, stigma, and fragmented health systems continued to leave many people behind, especially young women, adults, girls and key populations.
Dr Braka said new tools, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis, must reach those who need them the most, including rural women and marginalised communities, adding that Africa must invest in local manufacturing and affordable access.
On stigma, Dr Braka called on African governments to review and repeal laws that criminalise HIV, because stigma and discrimination remained barriers to ending such epidemics.
“We are urging governments to take ownership, embed their responses in an integrated manner, and provide permanent budget lines for these initiatives.
“We are also calling on partners, on our donors, to invest in long-term system strengthening in local manufacturing and in the African workforce,” she said.
HIV situation
On the HIV situation in Africa, Dr Braka said as of 2024, 26 million people were living with HIV, 63 per cent of them women and girls, while about 380,000 people died.
She said, however, that over the past 10 years, the African region had made some significant gains with new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths reducing by more than half since 2010.
“We are also seeing more and more people who are getting access to life-saving treatment, the antiretroviral therapy.
“We have a total of 21.7 million people with HIV now receiving life-saving antiretroviral therapy.
The other significant milestone is that we have new tools like the long-acting HIV prevention medicine, Lenacapavir, which has been approved, and it is helping to provide preventive care for people who are able to access it,” she said.
