Press Release

OFID sponsors participants to AIDS 2008

26/2008 August 1, Vienna, Austria
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The XVII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2008) opens August 3 in Mexico City, with the attendance of some 100 participants sponsored by the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID). The Vienna-based institution donated US$350,000 to the biennial conference back in March. The funds will cover the participation costs of specially selected health professionals, scientists, researchers and graduate students from least developed countries in Africa and Asia.

Speaking ahead of the conference, OFID Director-General, Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish said that the sponsorship would “provide the individuals concerned with a valuable experience that would otherwise be denied them.” The knowledge gained “would hopefully be taken home and put to good use,” he added.

AIDS 2008 is expected to draw a total of some 25,000 participants from around the globe, including many world-renowned leaders and experts in their field. The five-day gathering will be opened by Mexican President, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa. Other opening session speakers include José Angel Cordova Villalobos, Mexican Secretary of Health; Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization; and Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS.

The conference theme of Universal Action Now emphasizes the need for continued urgency in the worldwide response to HIV/AIDS, and for action on the part of all stakeholders. The gathering will provide opportunities for the presentation of important new scientific research and for productive dialogue on the major challenges facing the global response to the pandemic.

OFID is a long-standing partner in the fight against HIV/AIDS, with co-financed operations in close to 100 countries. Since the launch of its Special Grant Account for HIV/AIDS Operations in 2001, the institution has set aside US$65 million in dedicated resources to help finance a interventions ranging from prevention and awareness, to counselling, care, treatment and support. OFID’s HIV/AIDS mandate was recently widened to encompass research and clinical trials together with support to vulnerable children.