13th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), 21-26 September 2003, Nairobi
1 November 2003. Related: Conference reports, Conference index, ICASA 13th 2003.
The ICASA meeting in Nairobi was founded in the late 80’s to focus on HIV/AIDS and STIs in Africa and provides a forum for scientists, policy makers, political leaders and people living with HIV and their advocates. The 13 ICASA was attended by an estimated 7,000 delegates and included both scientific and socio-political sessions.
The conference website reminds us: “Current statistics show that about 29 million of the 40 million people infected with HIV worldwide are from sub-Saharan Africa. In the same region, about 55 per cent of those infected are women. While life expectancy has dipped to as low as 40 years, with some regions registering negative population growth. Thanks to HIV/AIDS. Yet, less than 33 per cent of countries in Africa have put in place National Strategic and Health Sector plans on how to tackle the epidemic and STI problems. Even those with the plans, only 11 of them are implementing them.”