Addis Ababa, 27 June 2010: The 1st International Steering Committee (ISC) Meeting of the International Conference on HIV/AIDS and STIs in Africa 2011 (ICASA) was conducted on 26 June 2010 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at Hilton Hotel.
This meeting was a technical session aimed at reviewing ICASA 2011 draft technical and financial proposal as well as present activities undertaken by the local organizing committee. The main topics covered during this meeting include: Progress Updates on ICASA 2011 preparation, approval of ICASA logo, theme & objectives; agreement on key dates and deadlines, conference format and budget.
In addition to members of ICASA 2011 local organizing committee, present in this meeting include representatives from WHO, International AIDS Society, UNICEF, African Union, USAID, CDC and NEP+. Professor Robert Soudre, President of Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA) and Dr. Yigeremu Abebe, Country Director for Clinton Foundation, Ethiopia led the discussion.
Dr. Yigeremu, President of ICASA 2011, in his opening remark underscored that such consultative meeting and active collaboration with SAA and other stakeholders will make ICASA 2011 a success.
Professor Robert Soudre, in his opening speech, noted that the selection of Ethiopia to host ICASA 2011 is a significant achievement to the country. Out of the final five selected candidates, Ethiopia came first. The selection is based on interest expressed by the Ethiopian government to host the conference, as well as set criteria including adequate logistics, security, communication, accommodation and conference venue.
After careful deliberation and feedback from all participants, important decisions were made. ICASA 2011 LOGO has been approved, the Theme has been coined – OWN, SCALE-UP AND SUSTAIN —and objectives, key dates and deadlines have been set.
In his closing remark, Prof. Soudre stated that Ethiopia, home to the African Union and ECA, has robust experiences organizing major international conferences and has no doubt ICASA 2011 will be a very successful event.
He also congratulated the LOC for the progress made thus far including the establishment of ICASA 2011 governance and encourages the organizers to continue this momentum. In closing, Prof. Soudre thanked IAS members, partners and organizers of this meeting.
*For more information about ICASA, visit ICASA’s website: http://www.icasa2011addis.org
Source: ICASA Secretariat at Federal HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office