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HIV & AIDS
Beyond the First 25 Years—The International AIDS Society and
Its Role in the Global Response to AIDS
a report by
Craig McClure
Executive Director, International AIDS Society (IAS)
In 1981, the first indication of a disturbing new illness that defied secretariat has grown to encompass a professional staff of 30, and the
medical classification appeared in the Centers for Disease Control and Governing Council has established an ambitious agenda of work for the
Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
1
Little could organization over the coming years, outlined in ‘Stronger Together:
have prepared the world for the human catastrophe that followed. Strategic Framework 2005–2009’ (available on the IAS website at
We have now just passed the 25-year mark in the history of this epidemic www.iasociety.org).
and yet, despite impressive scientific advances in both diagnosis and
treatment, it is continuing to outpace our efforts to contain it. An initial priority for the IAS in 2005 was to undertake a comprehensive
review of the International AIDS Conference, which had evolved from
As the world’s leading independent association of professionals working a small medical meeting in Atlanta in 1984 to a massive multisectoral
in the field of HIV/AIDS, the International AIDS Society (IAS) will have a health conference attended by over 21,000 delegates in Toronto in
unique role to play in the global response to this epidemic in the decades
to come. With over 10,000 members from 171 countries, the IAS
represents individuals working at every level of the response. The IAS was
established as a non-profit organization in 1988 with a mandate to As the world’s leading association of
organize the biennial International AIDS Conference, although the
professionals working in the field
Stockholm-based staff remained small and responsibility for organizing
the conferences was primarily undertaken by professional conference of HIV/AIDS, the International AIDS
organizers. That changed in 2004, when the IAS Governing Council
Society will have a unique role to play in
decided to upgrade its structure by strengthening the professional staff
at the secretariat and moving the headquarters to Geneva, Switzerland, the global response to this epidemic in
in order to strengthen links with other health non-governmental
the decades to come.
organizations (NGOs) and UN multilateral agencies. Since then, the IAS
Craig McClure has been the Executive Director of the
2006. The IAS consulted broadly with stakeholders on how to maximize
International AIDS Society (IAS), the world’s leading
independent association of HIV professionals, since 2004. He
the reach and impact of the conference, and received input through
has a background in political science, international relations,
group consultations, confidential interviews, Internet fora, and other
education, and counseling, and has worked in the field of
meetings. The recommendations from those consultations—among
HIV/AIDS for 15 years, primarily in the areas of policy,
advocacy, and education. In 2003–2004 he played a central
others, to improve the quality of science, to broaden diversity, to
role at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters as
facilitate cross-disciplinary linkages and dialog, and to strengthen the
a member of the co-ordination team for the development of
focus on youth—began to be implemented in the planning for AIDS
the ‘3 by 5’ strategy, an initiative by the WHO and the Joint United Nations Program on
HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to expand antiretroviral treatment access for people living with HIV/AIDS
2006 in Toronto, and will be implemented more fully in the planning for
in resource-limited settings. Prior to working with the WHO, Mr McClure worked for the
the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City in 2008. The
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), focusing on mobilizing public sector support for
report from the Future Directions project, including detailed
vaccine research, as well as working on policy development in vaccine research and access. As
a founding partner of the consultancy Health Hounds, he led a number of HIV/AIDS policy and
recommendations, is available on the IAS website. We are also
program development projects for inter-governmental, governmental, non-governmental, and
strengthening the conference’s role as an accountability mechanism, a
corporate sector clients during the period 1997–2000. Prior to that, he worked for four years
focus reflected in the conference theme of AIDS 2006—Time to Deliver—
for the Canadian Treatment Information Exchange, a non-governmental organization focused
on HIV treatment information, education, and advocacy. Mr McClure has published and
which has implications across disciplines and in the three program areas
presented on his HIV work at international, regional, and national conferences over the past
of science, community, and leadership.
15 years. He is committed to approaches to ending the epidemic that balance the need for
further research with expanded implementation of existing prevention tools, ethical and
equitable access to care and treatment, and an end to stigma and discrimination against
In addition to the large international conferences, the IAS also organizes
people living with HIV/AIDS and the marginalized communities that remain most at risk
the biennial Pathogenesis, Treatment, and Prevention conference, which
for HIV infection.
was last held in Sydney, Australia, on July 22–25, 2007. This is the
premier open, international scientific meeting on HIV, and was recently
10 © T OUCH BRIEFINGS 2007
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