Addis Ababa, December 4, 2011 (Addis Ababa) – The 16th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) was officially opened today, December 4th, 2011. The conference which is scheduled for 4th - 8th December 2011 has the theme: OWN, SCALE-UP and SUSTAIN.

The ICASA 2011 President, Dr. Yigeremu Abebe welcomed all delegates and stated that the high level leadership sessions will seek to engage African leaders at the highest level to commit to strategies that ensure home-grown responses to the HIV pandemic. The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Mr. Meles Zenawi while making a speech said like many countries in Africa, Ethiopia has made great strides in expanding access to HIV prevention, treatment and in providing care and support to those affected by HIV&AIDS. He went further to say that, new HIV infections have declined by 25 percent in many Sub-Saharan African countries including Ethiopia and said the Conference will equally create good opportunity for African countries to develop innovative and sustainable strategies for mobilizing resources including human, intellectual and material with a view to fortifying and sustaining the response to the epidemic over the coming years.

The former American President George W. Bush and founder of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was among the dignitaries who attended the opening ceremony to add further voice on the need for more efforts by African leaders and that of the rest of the world to save as many lives as possible. The elder statesman said U.S. government has committed nearly 39 billion U.S. dollars to funding for the AIDS epidemic. The former president used the opportunity to commend African leaders on the efforts towards combating HIV and AIDS and also stressed the need for the U.S. government and African countries to set priorities to prevent the diseases together.

The UN Executive Director, Michel Sidibe, in his speech said there is a need for the leaders across the African continent and around the world to protect the vulnerable groups whom he said are important in the fight against HIV&AIDS around the world.

NACA Director General, Professor John Idoko, said the conference will no doubt provide a visible roadmap for African countries on priority areas of interventions as it relates to individual countries in Africa. The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has delegates and speakers at the conference. Delegates at the conference came from around Africa and other parts of the world.