The 18th International AIDS Conference, AIDS 2010, will take place in Vienna, Austria from July 18 to July 23. The conference – held every two years – brings together over 20,000 scientists, policy makers, health workers, activists, business leaders, and people with HIV and AIDS.

AIDS 2010 overlaps with a major push to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, and care by the end of this year. As a poor global economy threatens to reduce public investment, the conference will focus on the value of HIV financing in achieving broader health and development goals.

The theme of the meeting is “Rights here, right now.” Conference organizers will emphasize the promotion and protection of human rights as necessary for an effective response to HIV/AIDS.

Former United States president Bill Clinton will be delivering the keynote address. Additional speakers include philanthropist Bill Gates and South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.

AIDS 2010 will include presentations of novel research and discussions on the major challenges facing the global response to AIDS.

To increase access to the conference, AIDS 2010 will provide or facilitate “hubs” where selected sessions of the conference will be screened around the world. In the United States, registered hubs include locations in San Francisco, New York, and Atlanta.

Furthermore, the International AIDS Society and the U.S.-based Kaiser Family Foundation will provide worldwide online access to AIDS 2010.

More than 50 conference sessions will be broadcast online. Topics range from treatment concerns – including long term complications of antiretroviral therapy and HIV, highly active antiretroviral therapy, and mother-to-child transmission – to social affairs, such as gender issues and the role of family in HIV care.

Over the next week, select topics and research from AIDS 2010 will be featured on The AIDS Beacon.

Kaiser’s AIDS 2010 conference coverage will be available through the Foundation’s Global Health Gateway website. More information about AIDS 2010, including updated program details, is available on the AIDS 2010 conference website.