Sri Lanka to host major Aids conference

The Sri Lankan Convention Bureau estimates more than 3,000 delegates from over 60 countries in the Asia Pacific will arrive in Colombo for the 8th International Congress on Aids in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) in August 2007. The four-day congress, to be held at the BMICH conference centre from August 19 to 23 will bring together politicians, government officials, medical experts, academics, people living with HIV/Aids, community workers and the media. Awide range of topics is expected to be discussed with regard to the epidemic that is confronting this region. It will be the biggest conference on medical and health issues to be held in Colombo in recent times. With seven regional congresses held so far from the inaugural summit in Canberra, Australia (1990), Delhi, India (1993), Chiang Mai, Thailand (1995), Manila, Philippines (1997), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1999), Melbourne, Australia (2001) to Kobe, Japan (2005), the eighth venue — Colombo — is the first time a high-level summit on this topic is taking place in a country with low prevalence of HIV. Compared to the rest of the region, the numbers of people living with HIV in Sri Lanka are low. While the reported numbers of people living with HIV in Colombo is 750 with 200 having gone on to develop Aids, it is estimated that 5,000 people may be living with HIV in Sri Lanka. The conference is supported by the Sri Lankan government, several UN agencies and a number of NGOs.