Durban – Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi closed the International AIDS Conference in Durban on Friday by calling on delegates, who had gathered at the ICC since Monday, not to be complacent in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
“There can be no solution to HIV if we continue to be complacent,” the Minister said at the closing ceremony.
He urged the world to be determined in protecting children, young girls and adolescents in the fight against the virus.
“Adolescents and young girls continue to bear the brunt of HIV. We call on men to be part of the solution in the fight against HIV and not just be part of the problem,” Minister Motsoaledi said.
He added that a fully supported global fund for HIV is needed to fight the disease.
The Minister went on to thank civil society for the role it has played, adding that without civil society’s contribution, “we will not win the fight against AIDS”.
South Africa hosted the 21st AIDS Conference this week for the second time. The country hosted the gathering in 2000.
While the biggest struggle during the first AIDS conference in 2000 was access to treatment, the battle in 2016 and going forward should be finding a vaccine that would eventually lead to an end to the disease, organisers said.
The official attendance figures for the conference were put at just more than 15 000 delegates from 153 countries. The largest number of participants came from South Africa followed by United States, Zimbabwe, Kenya and the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, it was confirmed that Director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Institute Linda Gail Bekker would be the new President of the International AIDS Society for the next two years.
She becomes the first woman from Africa to lead the organisation.
For more news stories from the conference visit www.sanews.gov.za. - SAnews.gov.za
