This press release originally appeared on the AIDS 2018 website. Reposted with permission.

Thursday, 1 February 2018, Geneva, Switzerland — The International AIDS Society (IAS) has announced the Plenary Programme and speakers for the 22nd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018), which will take place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from 23 to 27 July 2018. Plenary sessions bring all conference delegates together at the first session of every morning.

“The Plenary Programme of the International AIDS Conference is a reflection of the key issues facing both the HIV/AIDS sector and the broader global health community,” AIDS 2018 International Chair Linda-Gail Bekker said.

“It is going to be incumbent on all of us to find creative ways of maintaining a strong response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and ensure that we reach and protect the most vulnerable communities. “We are thrilled to have this expert group of people come together to inspire and guide us into new frontiers.”

AIDS 2018 Local Chair Peter Reiss added: “It is appropriate that this year´s Plenary Programme also sets the tone for discussion around substance use and human rights, given that AIDS 2018 is being held in the Netherlands – at the crossroads of the East-West Europe divide.

“Eastern Europe continues to be home to the fastest-growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the world today. Any meaningful response moving forward will have to enshrine evidence-based harm reduction and human rights. Several of the AIDS 2018 plenary speakers are the right experts to lead those discussions forward.”

The programme and speakers can be found online here.

Tuesday, 24 July 2018 – Breaking barriers of inequity in the HIV response

• The epidemiology and vulnerability of missing and indigenous populations
  Stefan Baral, United States
• Exploring innovation around HIV and substance use
  Anna Deryabina,Kazakhstan
  Olena Stryzhak,Ukraine
• Courage in leadership: National leadership toward human rights in the HIV response
  Maneesh Gobin,Mauritius

Wednesday, 25 July 2018 – Building bridges from scientific innovation to implementation

• The newest science in the search for a cure and vaccine
  Brad Jones, United States
• ART 2018 – Moving into the integrase era
  Pedro Cahn,Argentina
• Making the treatment cascade work in vulnerable and key populations
  David Malebranche,United States

Thursday, 26 July 2018 – Breaking barriers and building bridges between our responses toward universal health

• Understanding the intersecting syndemics of communicable and non-communicable diseases
  Emily Hyle,United States
• Global health and the HIV response
  Peter Piot,United Kingdom
• Leaving no one behind: A call to action
  Yana Panfilova,Ukraine

Friday, 27 July 2018 – Building bridges for the next generation

• Understanding adolescent neurocognitive development in the context of HIV treatment, prevention and care
  Anne-Lise Goddings, United Kingdom
• Growing into leadership for an efficient HIV response
  Romesa Roy William,Pakistan
  O’Cindy Cynthia Samuels,Guyana
  Gautam Yadav, India

###

About the International AIDS Society (IAS)

Founded in 1988, the International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world’s largest association of HIV professionals, with members from more than 180 countries. IAS Members work on all fronts of the global response to AIDS and include researchers, clinicians, policy and programme planners, and public health and community practitioners.

About the International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018)

The International AIDS Conference is the largest conference on any global health or development issue in the world. First convened during the peak of the AIDS epidemic in 1985, it continues to provide a unique forum for the intersection of science, advocacy, and human rights. Each conference is an opportunity to strengthen policies and programmes that ensure an evidence-based response to the epidemic. The next International AIDS Conference, AIDS 2018, will be held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from 23 to 27 July 2018.