Thousands Descend On Toronto For International AIDS Conference
Posted August 12, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Close to 40 million people in the world currently live with HIV and AIDS.
But progress is made in the fight against the deadly virus everyday, and during the 2006 International AIDS Conference, Toronto will get a firsthand look.
The conference features several exhibits including the World Vision tent, in which guests get a visual journey through the life of a child living with AIDS.
“That child has a face, it has a story, it has a family,” said Torontonian Afiya Frederick after going through.
And yet that’s just one of several ways the thousands of delegates will work to understand and battle a disease that’s already claimed 25 million lives.
More specifically, 22,000 delegates will attend the massive event from 150 countries around the world. There will be more than 4,000 research papers presented and 3,000 journalists on hand taking it all in.
“I’m from a non-profit community radio station in New York City and I’m here to cover what the activists are doing and what their perspectives are,” said American journalist Mark Hannay.
“I’m from South Africa … to hopefully get a fresh new perspective of how the whole AIDS epidemic is going to be dealt with,” said Nokuthula Mdlalose, another journalist in attendance.
Though the conference doesn’t officially begin until Sunday, thousands were already busy Saturday setting up exhibits, preparing presentations and attending a seminar for those on the front lines of the fight against HIV and AIDS, nurses.
“Nurses are handling everything,” said Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS.
“They’re handling medication, they’re handling diagnosis, they’re handling counseling and testing.”
Another of the conference’s attractions was also underway in advance of Sunday, and plenty of people were excited to be in attendance at Africa Alive: Portraits of Success.
It’s a photo exhibit that features 34 women suffering with HIV and AIDS, whose stories are especially compelling because they’re among a select group that’s received treatment in Africa.
“When somebody has lost hope and you look at such pictures that are beautiful like this, you gain hope,” said Grace Akampumuza, an HIV patient from Uganda.
Toronto’s the third Canadian city to host the conference after Montreal held it in 1989 and Vancouver followed in 1996.
It runs until the August 18, and for a full look at the event and all it has to offer, click here.
