It is organised by the International AIDS
Society (IAS) in partnership with the Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS
(CERiA) and University of Malaya.
The conference is also supported by the
Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau which helped with the bid
presentation, subvention funding for event promotion and marketing, and liaison
with the immigration department to facilitate immigration clearance for
international delegates who require visa, said its general manager – sales
& marketing, Ho Yoke Ping.
Anita Suleiman, senior principal assistant
director (HIV), Ministry of Health, said: “Through the conference, we hope to
learn from the important successes and challenges of our Asian colleagues. At
the same time, we are glad to showcase the Malaysian success story on HIV
especially on harm reduction programmes, Prevention of Mother-To-Child
Transmission programme and provision of free antiretroviral drug to those
eligible.
“The Ministry of Health…hopes that this
conference will benefit everybody – the stakeholders, key affected populations,
civil societies, corporate bodies and others. Through learning and sharing, we
hope to strengthen the country’s responses to HIV/AIDS in the future.”
She added: “We believe that Malaysia has been
chosen as host country for several reasons, notably the government’s commitment
to provide free HIV treatment to all Malaysians in need of antiretroviral
therapy, as well as its leadership in the area of HIV prevention for people who
use drugs, with Malaysia now serving as a model for countries experiencing
steep increases in HIV infections related to ineffective drug policy.”
The bid to host this conference was won in
2010 with Singapore, Hong Kong and India as strong contenders.
Held
every two years, this conference is expected to bring more than 4,000 delegates
into Malaysia and generate approximately RM55.8 million (US$18 million) in
economic impact for the country.
-TTG Asia.
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