Dear Colleagues,

 

On behalf of AIDS Society of India (ASI) and the ASICON 2015 Organizing Committee, it is our esteemed privilege to welcome you to the official conference of AIDS Society of India, at the JW Marriott Hotel Mumbai Sahar from October 30- November 1, 2015.

We have completed three decades of HIV epidemic in India and 15 years of existence of ASI. Last decade has witnessed astounding evolution of ART- from treatment for few to the now recommended ‘Treat All’. In light of this ‘Test and Treat’ strategy, Treatment as Prevention (TasP) and Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PreP) for all, we as a country have a long way to go in efficiently integrating these into our national guidelines and into clinical practice. Though the Government of India thas taken a bold step towards integration of the Department of AIDS Control with its parent Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the new program – the National Health Mission, the future of National AIDS Control Programmes may now be even more challenging. Achieving the ambitious treatment target of 90-90-90 by 2020 set by the UNAIDS will only be possible by a dedicated and united effort by the government, caregivers, NGOs, pharmaceutical industry, private sector and community.

ASICON is an unique opportunity platform to to review, deliberate and develop strategies to enhance our capacity to offer quality HIV care. As always, we have a galaxy of national and international experts who will help us update our knowledge and identify practice and research gaps in India. By partnering with the Forum of Parliamentarians on HIV/AIDS, ASI has also taken the initiative to influence policy makers and planners on the needs and aspirations of PLHIV as also on the role of HIV physicians. At ASICON 2015, we will go beyond the scholarship programme and have pre-conference training workshops followed by training opportunities in United Kingdom and South Africa with the help of our trusted overseas faculty. With abundant global research on HIV treatment, cure and vaccine, it is time that we train and empower our new generation of young physicians and scientist to take on the task of working towards ending the epidemic. Together we will ‘share a vision, shape the future’!
We hope to see you soon at ASICON-2015!

Dr. Ishwar Gilada
President