PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION     www.paho.org

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION                    www.who.int

News and Public Information

Media Advisory

PAHO/WHO at IAS2019

Experts from PAHO/WHO to participate in international scientific conference on HIV/AIDS in Mexico 
The Director of PAHO, Carissa F. Etienne, will be a keynote speaker during the opening ceremony. There will also be sessions on PrEP in Latin America and the Caribbean, HIV in the Region’s indigenous populations, and new approaches to accelerate the response to HIV among men who have sex with men, and trans women. WHO will release new reports on HIV drug resistance and pre-exposure prophylaxis

Washington, DC, July 19, 2019 (PAHO/WHO)- The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Americas and Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Dr Carissa Etienne and Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage/Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases Dr Ren Minghui are leading the organization’s delegation to the 10^th IAS conference on HIV science (IAS2019) taking place on 21-24 July 2019 in Mexico City, Mexico.

IAS 2019, which takes place every two years, will bring together more than 6000 scientists, clinicians, public health experts and community leaders from around the world, to discuss the latest developments in HIV research, and to explore real-world applications of this knowledge in order to tackle the epidemic.

The PAHO/WHO Director will be the Keynote speaker during the opening ceremony of the conference, which will take place this Sunday 21 July at 19:30, at the Citibanamex center. Etienne will discuss the importance of ensuring universal coverage and access to health in order to achieve elimination of HIV as a public health problem.

Experts from PAHO/WHO will also participate in sessions to address the following:

• Achieving 90-90-90 and “getting to zero” in the Americas requires addressing equity for indigenous communities 
  Sunday 21 July, 10:15-12:15, Room: Palacio de Iturbide

Find out more: https://bit.ly/2SqjzlM

• New generations free of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B: Adding hepatitis B to the global initiative of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis

Sunday 21 July – 14:45 – 16:45, Casa del Diezmo 3 y 4

Find out more: https://bit.ly/2SqjzlM

• It’s time for PrEP in Latin America and the Caribbean!

Sunday 21 July, 17:00 – 19:00, Casa del Diezmo 3 y 4
Find out more: https://bit.ly/2SqjzlM

• New approaches to monitor HIV services and accelerate the response to HIV among MSM and transgender women in Latin America

Monday 22 July, 18:30–20:30, Palacio de Valparaíso 1

Find out more: https://bit.ly/2SqjzlM

Prior to the start of IAS 2019, experts from PAHO/WHO will participate in the 5th International HIV/Viral Hepatitis Co-infection Meeting: Viral hepatitis elimination in Latin America and globally: How close are we? This will take place as a pre-conference on July 20 and 21 at the ‘Unidad De Congresos Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI’. For more information, visit: https://bit.ly/32qZ0u9

WHO news at-a-glance:

·                     WHO will release a new policy brief on updated HIV treatment recommendations responding to the rapidly developing new evidence on the safety and efficacy of dolutegravir.  This issue has implications for the reproductive health choices of women living with HIV. Less than 40% of women living with HIV have access to family planning services and more need counselling to make informed choices about HIV treatment.  

·                     WHO will release a new report on HIV drug resistance showing that in 12 of 18 countries reporting survey data to WHO between 2014 and 2018, levels of pretreatment resistance to efavirenz and nevirapine among adults initiating first-line ART exceeded the WHO recommended threshold of 10%. Overall, levels of pretreatment drug resistance are nearly twice as high among women as among men.

·                     WHO will issue two new technical briefs on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention, including a new event-driven oral PrEP regimen formulated as “2+1+1” for the number of medicines to be taken at specific times. WHO will also highlight linkages needed between PrEP and sexually transmitted infection services. 

·                     WHO and the Journal of International AIDS Society will issue a new supplement entitled “The power of partners” highlighting the underutilized opportunities of evidence-based partner notification approachesthat assist people with HIV engage their partners in HIV testing and treatment.

·                     WHO will highlight the World Hepatitis Day 2019 “Invest in eliminating hepatitis” campaign to be commemorated on 28 July (https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-hepatitis-day/2019/). WHO will release the first-ever global price-tag on hepatitis elimination by 2030 during World Hepatitis Day 2019.

Press conferences:

·                     Dolutegravir safety: New evidence and updated guidance on antiretroviral treatment for women

Monday, 22 July, 10:00-10:45, Dr Meg Doherty, Coordinator, Treatment and Care, Department of HIV, WHO

·                     New ECHO insights: Integrating HIV and sexual and reproductive health, Monday, 22 July, 12:00-12:45, Dr James Kiarie, Coordinator, Human Reproduction, Reproductive health and research department, WHO

·                     IAS2019 Spanish-speaking media roundtable, Tuesday, 23 July, 11:30-12:30, Dr Massimo Ghidinelli, Chief, Unit of HIV, Hepatitis, TB and Sexually Transmitted Infections, PAHO/WHO

WHO key engagements: 

·                     Opening and closing statements

·                     19 satellite sessions

·                     15 scientific posters

·                     11 new products and publications

·                     All publication launches will take place during various WHO sessions and events outlined at: https://www.who.int/hiv/events/ias2019/en/

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The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) works with the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of their populations. Founded in 1902, it is the world’s oldest international public health organization. It serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of WHO and is the specialized health agency of the inter-American system.

LINKS

PAHO at IAS https://bit.ly/2SqjzlM

WHO at IAS www.who.int/hiv/events/ias2019/en/

IAS 2019 www.ias2019.org