HIVR4P 2024 - The 5th HIV Research for Prevention Conference

IAS – the International AIDS Society – will host HIVR4P 2023, the 5th HIV Research for Prevention Conference, in Lima, Peru, and virtually from 22 to 26 October 2023.

“HIVR4P will be a unique opportunity for the HIV prevention community to hear, debate and weigh new scientific evidence,” Sharon Lewin, IAS President, declared. “It is also an opportunity to assess the increasingly complex prevention landscape and the next generation of research questions, including those for HIV vaccines, and the interactions of vaccines with non-vaccine prevention modalities.”

“Lima was chosen as the host city to highlight scientific excellence in prevention research in the Latin American region while drawing attention to the spiralling vulnerabilities and epidemics in the region,” Omar Sued, IAS Governing Council member and HIVR4P Co-Chair from Argentina, said. “As with all recent IAS conferences, HIVR4P will be accessible virtually to remove as many obstacles to attendance as possible so that those who won’t be able to join us in Lima can attend remotely. We will also offer 300 scholarships to ensure the full participation of researchers, community activists and civil society representatives, especially those from resource-limited settings and communities.”

The insights shared at HIVR4P will focus efforts on overcoming HIV as a threat to public health and individual wellbeing, including in Latin America, where HIV cases are on the rise.

The scientific programme will consist of five thematic areas: basic science; PrEP and ARV-based prevention; vaccines and bNAb clinical trials; other prevention modalities and cross-cutting issues; and applied and implementation science. A conference Co-Chair will lead each area.

“Peru has a rich and instructive experience in HIV prevention science and the timing of HIV R4P to come to our region of the world could not have been better chosen,“ Jorge Sànchez, HIVR4P Organizing Committee member, said. “We hope to boost our local and regional prevention efforts and ultimately improve the lives of everyday people, in particular those who are most vulnerable to acquiring HIV.”

HIVR4P will be co-chaired by five international leaders in HIV prevention research, implementation and advocacy:

• Victor Appay, Research Director of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM)
• Linda-Gail Bekker, a former IAS President, Professor of Medicine and Deputy Director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town
• Chris Beyrer, a former IAS President, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Duke Global Health Institute
• Deborah Donnell, Professor of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Epidemiology at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington
• Omar Sued, an IAS Governing Council member, is HIV treatment and care advisor at the WHO Regional Office for the Americas (Pan American Health Organization)

The scientific programme is developed by a multidisciplinary and diverse international Organizing Committee, which, beyond the co-chairs, will include Jorge Sànchez, Vice President of the Centro de Investigaciones Tecnológicas, Biomédicas y Medioambientales, as the Local Scientific Advisor. The Organizing Committee’s complete composition will be announced in early 2023.

About the IAS

IAS – the International AIDS Society – convenes, educates and advocates for a world in which HIV no longer presents a threat to public health and individual well-being. After the emergence of HIV and AIDS, concerned scientists created the IAS to bring together experts from across the world and disciplines to promote a concerted HIV response. Today, the IAS and its members unite scientists, policy makers and activists to galvanize the scientific response, build global solidarity and enhance human dignity for all those living with and affected by HIV. The IAS also hosts the world’s most prestigious HIV conferences: the International AIDS Conference, the IAS Conference on HIV Science and the HIV Research for Prevention Conference.

About HIVR4P

HIVR4P is the only global scientific conference focused exclusively on the challenging and fast-growing field of HIV prevention research. HIVR4P fosters interdisciplinary knowledge exchange on HIV vaccines, microbicides, PrEP, treatment as prevention and biomedical interventions, as well as their social and behavioural implications.

About the state of HIV in Peru and Latin America

It is estimated that more than 90,000 people are living with HIV in Peru and about 2.1 million people are living with HIV across Latin America. Latin America has deep inequalities and its progress against HIV has stalled in recent years. Of the estimated 100,000 HIV acquisitions in the region in 2020, 92% were among members of key populations and their sexual partners, a sign that HIV prevention programmes are not adequately serving populations most vulnerable to acquiring HIV.