India will host AIDS meet - in 2012

[Guest guest]

India will host AIDS meet - in 2012

Kounteya Sinha

[24 Aug, 2006 0130hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

TORONTO: India will host the 19th International AIDS Conference -

the world's largest congregation of scientists, researchers,

philanthropists, donors and world leaders involved with containing

HIV - in 2012.

However, the official announcement will be made in November after

the International Aids Society (IAS) governing body meets in

Switzerland.

The 14th conference, that concluded last week, registered an

attendance of 31,000 delegates from 140 countries. The tourism

ministry earned a whopping $22 million during the six-day meeting.

Mexico will host the next conference from August 3-8, 2008, making

it the first Latin American country to host the biennial conference.

According to officials of IAS, the main organiser of the conference,

India was shortlisted to host the 2010 conference.

However, shortage of infrastructure, including hotel accommodation

in New Delhi, the proposed venue for the conference, led to IAS

deciding on India as the venue for 2012.

By then, Delhi, which is hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games, would

be ready with several new hotels and guest houses, created to

accommodate visitors to the games

Outgoing president of IAS, Helene Gayle, told TOI, " We made several

visits to New Delhi to look at the infrastructure available.

But a variety of logistical problems, including lack of hotel rooms,

made us change plans.

" India will, however, be the venue in 2012. We will use the

infrastructure created for the Commonwealth Games 2010. We will use

the Games Village as a major residential option for delegates. "

N M , India's only representative on the IAS governing board,

said: " India's hosting of the international conference will provide

a great boost to research on HIV for this entire region.

" It will do what the 2000 conference did for Durban. The world had

joined hands to fight the virus in Africa after that. For the 2012

conference in India, we expect over 45,000 participants. "

The tourism ministry has already started working towards providing

13,000 additional rooms in the next two years, besides increasing

the number of star category rooms to 20,000.

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