Warri – President, International Aids Society (IAS) and Co-Chair of AIDS 2022, Adeeba Kamarulzaman, has said that, the fight against HIV/AIDS has suffered some setbacks in last two years.

Adeeba Kamarulzaman, made the disclosure at the official opening ceremony of the AIDS 2022 International Conference holding in Montreal, Canada.

The conference, with the theme,”Follow The Science” started on July 29, 2022 and it expected to climax on August 2,2022 with over 9,500 in-person and nearly 2,000 virtual participants registered to attend the fully hybrid AIDS 2022.

Speaking at the opening opening ceremony of the conference, Kamarulzaman said,

“In the face of duelling pandemics, we are coming together to celebrate the resilience of our community and incredible advances in HIV prevention, treatment and cure research”.

“But let’s be clear, we have lost ground over the past two years and the most vulnerable have been hit hardest. That is why we’re bringing together the worlds of research, policy and activism at AIDS 2022 to restore momentum in the global HIV response. To overcome HIV, we must re-engage and follow the science.”

Meanwhile, Montreal Manifesto has called for equity and inclusion in global HIV response.

On the eve of the conference, COCQ-SIDA launched the 2022 Montreal Manifesto, an update of the historic community declaration issued in 1989 when Montreal last hosted the conference.

COCQ-SIDA conducted a broad consultation in the hopes that all people living with and affected by HIV feel the demands in the manifesto reflect their own and use the manifesto as a tool to communicate their needs to those with the power to change things.

“We know that much has changed in HIV, especially in treatment, since 1989,” Ken Monteith, Executive Director of COCQ-SIDA, said. “We also know that access to the treatment miracles is not equitable and often fragile, and that very little progress has been made on human rights issues.”