In the year in which governments presented, at the UN in New York, their progress in implementing their commitments to the AIDS response, including efforts to reach universal access by 2010, the AIDS2008 Conference is the space for critical analysis.  Away from the UN and inter-governmental protocol, honest and frank discussions need to happen to identify what further action is needed.

Universal Action Now is not just a slogan for a conference, but also a call for action by everyone to ensure that universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support becomes a reality by 2010.   This includes ensuring that governments stop criminalizing the most marginalized, vulnerable, and at risk populations, such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, people who use drugs, and people living with HIV.  Without protecting their human rights, these populations will continue to be unable to access to the critical services they need to protect them from HIV and/or maintain good health.

For these reasons, a major part of ICASO’s agenda at AIDS2008 is to work with partners to provide platforms for this critical analysis of the AIDS response and on how the global AIDS architecture, including community representatives, is accountable to the communities living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.

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XVII International AIDS Conference
Voices of the Conference
Monday, August 4

Leon Knoops, Outreach worker, Netherlands
I would like to see more attention being given to drug users.  Hopefully future conferences will provide more harm reduction activities for groups like drug users.  Otherwise I think the conference is well organized.                         


Siddharta Deb, Author, India
I think that the conference is drawing more attention to specific issues affecting HIV around the world and that is a good thing. 

Brent Hanson, Global Health Researcher, California, U.S.A.
I would like to see this conference move nations beyond the talking more toward solutions such as implementing the latest forms of prevention in more regions.

Luis Sanchez, Community Volunteer, Tabasco, MexicO
I hope that we achieve all our goals during this conference such as getting free medications for those who need them.  We must also remove homophobia and increase the human rights of those living with HIV.

Robinson Castillo (Nairobi), Santo Domingo
I would like to see all transgendered people and sex workers around the world get more human rights.  I feel great to be among all these people of the world. It makes me proud to be part of this great process.  We must stop discrimination of people living with HIV and we must stop homophobia.

Muntasir Mamun, HIV volunteer cycling around the world to raise awareness, Bangladesh                              
I attended the pre-conference and it was a great place to network with other advocates.  I enjoyed getting information from around the world.

Joseph Sewedo Akoro,  Advocate and Sex Educator, Nigeria
I would love to see sessions about and for young people – sexual orientation and infection information.  Young people are more vulnerable to abuse and discrimination, even from their families, after declaring their sexual orientation.

Boomer & Sambo, Harm reduction volunteers, Cambodia
We would like to see more unity in the fight against AIDS.  We are happy to be here, we learned a lot about the disease and got a lot of valuable information.

Lesvia Margarita Rivera Abarca, Medical Doctor, Public Health Clinic,Oaxaca, Mexico                               
I have heard that ARVs are being used as a form of prevention and I came to find out if that is true so I can help youth, women and pregnant mothers more in the work I do.   

                                                                  
Raniyah Samad, Black AIDS Institute, California, U.S.A.
I want this conference to give relevant information to the communities who need it the most and I want those representatives to take the information back to those in need.