The International AIDS Society is the world's largest association of HIV/AIDS professionals, with 11,600 members from over 170 countries as of July 2020, including people living with HIV, service providers, clinicians, policymakers, and others. It aims to utilize the strategy of collective advocacy to reduce the global impact of AIDS. In its recent Conference on HIV Science, the new AIDS targets for 2025, which are included in the UNAIDS Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026 and the 2021 United Nations Political Declaration on AIDS got discussed at length.
2021 United Nations Political Declaration on AIDS was adopted by United Nations Member States at the United Nations General Assembly. UNAIDS purpose is to provide strategic direction, coordination, technical support, and advocacy to catalyze and connect leadership from governments, the private sector, and communities to deliver life-saving HIV services. It generates information and analysis to make people aware of the latest updates on the AIDS epidemic and the progress towards its eradication.
2025 AIDS targets
The aim of the conference was to make 2025 targets known widely amongst all. The targets included services, integration and societal enablers framed within the Sustainable Development Goals. The financial resources needed to achieve them in low and middle income countries also got discussed. There were recommendations for prevention services in accordance with the specific needs of populations or groups and their risk of acquiring HIV in the conference. As far as the testing and treatment services are concerned, it was recommended that each and every subgroup would get access to it so that no one gets left behind. These targets are being said to be more ambitious than the previous targets.
Professional institutions and community groups across the globe would be working towards the targets to eradicate the fear of AIDS as a public health threat.