ICASA 2021 Background

The International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) is a major bilingual international AIDS conference which takes place in Africa. Its current biennial hosting alternates between Anglophone and Francophone African countries.

The 21st Edition of ICASA (2021) will be held either virtual, in- person or hybrid and all adequate dispositions is being taken and the organizers are monitoring on daily basis trend of the Covid-19 pandemic in the host country and in Africa at large.

The convening of the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA 2021) in Durban ICC, South Africa in December 2021 represents a tremendous opportunity to highlight the diverse nature of the African region’s HIV epidemic and the unique response to it. In an inclusive context, according to the 2020 Global Fund COVID 19 Funding report, the emergence of the Corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic is having a catastrophic impact on the most vulnerable communities around the world and threatens progress made in mitigating the impact of HIV, TB and malaria globally. Through grant savings and reprogramming of HIV, TB and malaria programs, over US$500 million has been allocated to the COVID-19 Response Mechanism. As such, this creates a gap in the fight to mitigate the impacts on lifesaving HIV, TB and malaria programmes, leading to fragile health systems being overwhelmed. A disease like COVID-19 threatens us all. However, we must not relent in our goal for an AIDS free Africa. It is imperative for the continent to rely on the dynamics of recent scientific advances, on a plea that will respond to a mobilization of internal and endogenous resources. The biennial International AIDS Conference is the premier gathering for all working in the field of Health as well as leaders, people living with HIV and others committed to ending the epidemic. It will be a tremendous opportunity for researchers, clinicians from around the world to share the latest scientific advances, learn from one another’s expertise, and develop strategies for advancing all facets of our collective efforts to end AIDS by 2030.

ICASA 2021 is organized with the government of South Africa which is committed to ensure that all conference delegates adhere to the Covid-19 safety and preventive protocols. The conference will be held from 6th to 11th December 2021. The Society for AIDS in Africa, the organizers of ICASA, with more than 5,000 members in 56 countries, is organizing ICASA 2021 in collaboration with its international and local partners. ICASA will be an important opportunity to share the benefits of such partnerships with other countries.

We are extremely pleased to partner with Government of South Africa, and various scientific and community leaders from host country, as well as from Africa and the world at large, with long and impressive histories of leadership on HIV. We look forward to a strong global partnership among science, leadership and community in building a conference programme that will speed up the end of the AIDS epidemic.

ICASA 2021 comes a year after the UNAIDS global 90-90-90 targets in 2020, the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa offers an unique platform for Leaders, Activists, Scientists and Community to take stock of the challenges faced in achieving the UNAIDS global 95-95-95 targets and pave the way for an efficient innovation towards a generation without AIDS in Africa and to assess and improve the global frame work for ending AIDS by 2030 alongside defecting the COVID19 by learning the best practices.

Taking into consideration the Covid-19 pandemic, the ICASA 2021 has incorporated three approaches as: innovation, adaptability, and flexibility in organizing ICASA 2021. ICASA 2021 organizers will provide the necessary support to use either virtual, hybrid or in- person format to organize the upcoming ICASA with adequate COVID19 protocol policies. Partnership fees will not change with regards to the virtual/hybrid conference since we are planning for more than 10,000 delegates, where at least 4000 virtual scholarships will be given to delegates from Africa to fully participate. This will increase visibility of partners as well as scholarship recipient from Africa the opportunity to participate since the continent is not too conversant with virtual conferences format.