The International AIDS Society (IAS) has announced that San Francisco,
California, in partnership with nearby Oakland, will host the 23rd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2020).
To find the best host for each International AIDS Conference, the IAS conducts an extensive, open-bid process that begins 18 months before a decision is made. For AIDS 2020, we engaged more than 20 cities across the world, starting in 2016.
Our process involves an extensive evaluation that determines each city’s ability to house the meeting and its delegates, commitment to supporting scientific research and implementation, and inclusion of civil society and communities living with HIV in their local response. Each city is required to represent a cross-section of policymakers, scientific researchers and civil society as part of the bid.
It is always our preference to represent different geographies in hosting the International AIDS Conference. For many years, we were fortunate to identify willing government and community partners in resource-limited settings that allowed us to host the meeting while maintaining our commitment to access for people around the globe. For AIDS 2020, only cities in the global North completed a bid application. Even after direct engagement from IAS staff and site visits to potential hosts in the global South, we did not receive any applications.
This is understandable. Being selected as a host city for the International AIDS Conference is not a reward; it is a recognition that there is something particularly unique and challenging about the epidemic in that setting. It is a commitment by conference organizers and local partners to shine a light on strengths and weaknesses in the response. For a variety of reasons, including political climate, not every country is willing to make this commitment.
Many previous conference sites were chosen to directly challenge political and social norms. AIDS 2020 is no exception.
To find the best host for each International AIDS Conference, the IAS conducts an extensive, open-bid process that begins 18 months before a decision is made. For AIDS 2020, we engaged more than 20 cities across the world, starting in 2016.
Our process involves an extensive evaluation that determines each city’s ability to house the meeting and its delegates, commitment to supporting scientific research and implementation, and inclusion of civil society and communities living with HIV in their local response. Each city is required to represent a cross-section of policymakers, scientific researchers and civil society as part of the bid.
It is always our preference to represent different geographies in hosting the International AIDS Conference. For many years, we were fortunate to identify willing government and community partners in resource-limited settings that allowed us to host the meeting while maintaining our commitment to access for people around the globe. For AIDS 2020, only cities in the global North completed a bid application. Even after direct engagement from IAS staff and site visits to potential hosts in the global South, we did not receive any applications.
This is understandable. Being selected as a host city for the International AIDS Conference is not a reward; it is a recognition that there is something particularly unique and challenging about the epidemic in that setting. It is a commitment by conference organizers and local partners to shine a light on strengths and weaknesses in the response. For a variety of reasons, including political climate, not every country is willing to make this commitment.
Many previous conference sites were chosen to directly challenge political and social norms. AIDS 2020 is no exception.
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