8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, Colombo Sri Lanka.

Preparations are well underway in Colombo Sri Lanka to host the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (8th ICAAP) to be held from the 19th – 23rd August 2007.

The theme “Waves of Change, Waves of Hope” represents the collective regional commitment to address and overcome the many challenges of HIV and AIDS.

Despite the ongoing civil conflict between the government and the Tamil Tiger terrorists in Sri Lanka, life goes on as normal in Colombo the commercial capital. After 24 years of intermittent civil war, and 4 cease fire agreements, the 20 million strong population sees the ethnic conflict as part and parcel of their everyday lives. It is business as usual in this beautiful country.

It is important to note that the conflict has never targeted foreigners, and currently does not target civilians. The main conflict zones are around 200 miles away from cities such as Colombo, the commercial capital.

In response to the security concerns of congress participants, several extra security measures will be implemented for participants. Secured buses will be provided from the airport to the hotels on arrival, as well as secured transport from hotels to the congress on a daily basis for all attendees. The venue of the congress is also a high security zone, where vehicles are checked and everyone taking part will be registered.

The pre-Congress meeting, the Marathon Meeting was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in April 2007, to review abstracts of Papers to be presented at the 8th ICAAP.

Attended by twelve international community and scientific advisors from the AIDS Society for Asia and the Pacific (ASAP), the International Advisory Committee (IAC), the International AIDS Society, and UNAIDS as well as members of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), there ensued three days of lively debate, where the international review panel participated in a peer review of each of the 1084 regional abstracts submitted.

Topics ranged from empowering sex worker communities, to reducing risks amongst drug users, the role of religious leaders, reducing stigma, and caring for the affected, orphans and vulnerable communities.

“The Marathon exercise was exciting as we saw the emergence of congress program that was relevant to all stakeholders in the Asia Pacific region. A lot of effort was made to ensure that the congress program addressed the specific epidemics in each of the sub regions and in each of the populations across the AP region. We are happy with the outcome of the Marathon Meetings,” said Kamanee Hapugalle, congress coordinator.

Shiba Phurailatpam, Regional Coordinator of the Asia Pacific Network of
People Living with HIV/AIDS (APN+) said, “We hope there will be participation from marginalized groups despite the political situation in Sri Lanka. We hope it will not affect people’s participation, that it will address stigma and bring about discussion on care and treatment in the region.”

Lasting three full days, the Scientific Sessions of ICAAP 8 – the heart of the Congress - will feature eight concurrent sessions, three times per day. There will be 36 skills building workshops alongside the scientific sessions, with morning and pre lunch plenaries setting the pace for the day. Out of the 1084 abstracts received, 288 were chosen as oral presentations, and 750 as poster presentations. Thirty-six skills building sessions have been finalized and 24 panel discussions will be facilitated by the various organizations taking part.

The scholarship programme aims to offer 1000 places. 500 local, 500 international. Fifty percent of the international scholarships being offered are partially funded the remaining fifty are fully funded, where civil society representatives and People Living with HIV/AIDS will have special preference.

Organizers of the 8th ICAAP are expecting numbers of between 2500 and 3500 people, and encourage any prospective participants to register at www.icaap8.lk. Satellite session applications deadlines are also due by the end of May 2007.

For more information please feel free to contact Chandi Jayawickrama at communications@icaap8.lk