DUSHANBE, October 28, 2009, Asia-Plus — The Third Eastern Europe and Central Asia AIDS Conference has opened in Moscow today morning.
According to the Ministry of Health (MoH), the event will last till October 30 and its organizers include Russian government with the leadership of Rospotrebnadzor, also UNAIDS, the Global Fund and the International AIDS Conference.
Tajik delegation comprising 10 persons and led by deputy Minister of Health, Azam Mirzoyev, is representing Tajikistan at the conference.
The purpose of the third EECAAC 2009 conference is to strengthen regional cooperation, and join efforts towards fighting HIV/AIDS and achieving the goal of Universal Access to HIV prevention, treatment and care. The EECAAC 2009 conference recognizes that universal access includes not only the essential biomedical interventions, but also social justice and human rights considerations that are necessary to overcome stigma and discrimination and reach the most-at-risk target groups including young people and people who use drugs.
The proposed overall theme for the conference is: “Regional cooperation. Join the Efforts for Universal Access”.
EECAAC 2009 presents a unique opportunity for Eastern Europe and Central Asia to review progress in achieving Universal Access by 2010, and set priorities for the region with special emphasis on prevention among target groups, while taking into consideration peculiarities of the epidemic in each country. EECAAC 2009 will also build on lessons and successes of previous conferences; however, the conference will pay greater attention to the long-wave nature of the epidemic’s development and will take into consideration modeling of potential consequences if adequate action is not taken today.
The Eastern Europe and Central Asia AIDS Conference (EECAAC) is the leading regional forum on public health and HIV/AIDS. The conference has traditionally been held in Moscow, under the leadership of the Russian Government, and with support from UNAIDS, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) and the International AIDS Society as international co-chairs of the conference organizing committee. The first EECAAC 2006 was attended by close to 1,600 delegates, with fifty countries represented, of which 15 sent official delegations. The second EECAAC 2008 attracted 2,057 participants representing fifty-two countries. Reports of an independent comprehensive evaluation of both conferences show that the vast majority of survey respondents deemed both conferences as ‘successful’ or ‘very successful’.
