WHO @ AIDS 2024

This pre-conference will include dynamic sessions on the PrEP product introduction landscape, the transformative potential of PrEP choice, key programmatic considerations, and early learnings from efforts to deliver PrEP choice around the world.

This pre-conference brings together a diverse array of stakeholders including civil society, community leaders, public health and clinical experts, programme managers, and policy makers to catalyze action aimed at accelerating the response to eliminate STIs as a public health threat. The meeting serves as a pivotal platform to underscore the significance of STIs within the broader context of global health, cultivate new collaborations, and mobilize advocacy efforts.

The aim of the meeting will be to review progress in implementation of activities to address HIV-associated TB since the publication of the first WHO policy on TB/HIV collaborative activities in 2004 and to review the TB/HIV research landscape and research gaps that need to be addressed to achieve global targets by 2030. The meeting will also aim to identify key challenges and opportunities for the provision of people-centred services for HIV-associated TB, including uptake of latest technologies, and to generate innovative ideas and ways to define the next stage of the global TB/HIV response and its strategic direction towards 2030.

This all-day event will include perspectives from key global and national stakeholders working on TB and HIV, including high-level policy makers, programme managers, researchers and community activists. Leading opinion leaders will provide strategic and visionary perspectives on what it will take to end TB deaths among people living with HIV. Representatives from ministries of health of high TB/HIV burden countries will discuss lessons learnt and actions needed in the future to end TB deaths in people living with HIV. Leading researchers, implementers and civil society will discuss the research landscape and priorities for research and development, focused on priority populations, such as people in prisons, people who use drugs and children.

This session will spotlight diverse real-world PrEP service delivery models from a variety of contexts and for different populations that showcase examples of the innovative, out-of-the-box thinking needed to accelerate PrEP scale-up. This will be followed by a panel discussion with leading experts on accelerating PrEP scale up, sustainability of PrEP programming and the implications of new PrEP products and approaches.

The aim of this satellite session is to unveil the Global Alliance progress report, explore issues, achievements, and best practices of by examining the connections and alignment between data, HIV response, and community engagement, offering a fresh insight to addressing treatment gaps for children and adolescents.

Furthermore, the session will offer an in-depth examination of the current status and progress, emphasizing the importance of partnership and evidence-based decision-making in crafting country action plans that drive visible change for children and adolescents. Additionally, it will explore avenues to strengthen the implementation of these plans, fostering collaboration and innovation at both the global, regional and country levels.

The session will hear insights into best practices and lessons learned and seek to identify risks and challenges that require further understanding and collaboration to move forward. The session will seek to understand the political, financial and governance mechanisms through which change can be brought about.

The aim of the session is to review the progress of the regional action plans and attest the political commitment towards reaching 2025 targets to: Accelerate the implementation of the regional action plans for ending AIDS and the epidemics of viral hepatitis and STIs 2022-2030 and achieving the 2025 targets; strengthen subregional collaboration to implement the strategic priorities outlined in the regional action plans for ending AIDS and the epidemics of viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections 2022-2030 in line with the resolution EUR/RC72/R4; and facilitate the exchange of country experiences, with a focus on overcoming implementation barriers. 

The session will focus on the latest WHO recommendations on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of HIV, hepatitis and STIs. The session will also explore the perspectives of key stakeholders on how these new recommendations can impact the public health response to these diseases, taking to account the main changes, innovations and implications for policy and practice different settings. The audience will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback to the speakers and the co-chairs. A moderator will facilitate the panel discussion and interactions between the speakers and the audience.

WHO and IMPAACT will present a new toolkit for research in pregnancy and breastfeeding, that provides access to guidance, research documentation (e.g. protocols, case report forms, etc) and other resources relating to the inclusion of pregnant and breastfeeding women in clinical and research studies and surveillance programmes. The satellite is aimed at research networks, national HIV programmes, affected communities, innovator companies and regulatory agencies so that interested parties can openly access, use and adapt the resources to their needs and support optimal antiretroviral drug choices in pregnancy.

This satellite will highlight new developments in global normative guidance from World Health Organization on advanced HIV disease, including an overview of the global research landscape. This will be followed by presentations about ongoing AHD projects from key implementing partners such as Clinton Health Access Initiative, Aurum Institute and PENTA. The session will also include an implementation example from a ministry of health. This will be followed by an interactive expert panel discussion with key global stakeholders, including representatives of civil society. The key message is the urgent need to use the existing tools to ensure that AIDS-related mortality can be greatly reduced so that the high level target of ending AIDS related deaths by 2030 may be achieved.