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| - Ahead of the first-ever fully virtual International AIDS Conference set to take place on July 6-10 during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) calls on the global public health community and world leaders not to abandon the fight against AIDS, genuinely commit to fundamental reforms of the global public health security framework, and defend access to lifesaving medicines for people everywhere against Big Pharma greed. "Sadly the world is now paying the price for letting so many warning signs about an impending public health crisis go unheeded, without a unified plan of action, nor leadership that is ready and willing to rise to the occasion and defend humanity against COVID-19," said Michael Weinstein, AHF President. "Protecting public health is a sacred trust. To ensure hundreds of thousands of people didn't die in vain because of cover-ups, delays and corruption, we must singularly commit ourselves to demanding transparency and accountability in all aspects of global health, so that we don't continue repeating the mistakes of this profound tragedy over and over again." AHF's presence at AIDS 2020: Virtual, as this year's conference has been called, will focus on driving advocacy efforts to protect gains that have been made in the global fight on AIDS while calling for reforms in how the world responds to pandemics. There will also be a spotlight on Gilead Sciences' profiteering from COVID-19 by price gouging remdesivir during a public health emergency, a drug that has been shown to speed up recovery in critically ill coronavirus patients. Read AHF's recent statement on Gilead's "war profiteering" here. The conference activities will include an exhibition booth with live chat, a booth at the so-called Global Village community space featuring youth leaders from the innovative Girls Act! empowerment campaign, a scientific program featuring a dozen research posters, and three satellite panels with participation by leading thinkers in global public health. The satellite panels will take place on the following dates and times: Monday, July 6 AIDS-The Forgotten Pandemic Live at 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. PDT, with a recorded replay at 11 p.m. - 12 a.m. PDT Featuring: Dr. Adele Schwartz Benzaken - Moderator Senior Global Medical Director, AIDS Healthcare Foundation Former Director of the Department of STI, HIV/AIDS and Viral Hepatitis, Ministry of Health of Brazil Dr. Angeli Achrekar Principal Deputy US Global AIDS Coordinator, US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Laurie Garrett Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist, and Bestselling Author of "I Heard the Sirens Scream", "The Coming Plague" and "Ebola & Betrayal of Trust". Dr. Lucica Ditiu Executive Director, Stop TB Partnership Allan Maleche Executive Director, Kenya Legal & Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN) Former Chair, Implementer Group, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite Member of Parliament - Portugal Founder and President of UNITE Global network of Parliamentarians Committed to Ending Infectious Diseases Dr. Jorge Saavedra, Executive Director of the AHF Global Public Health Institute at the University of Miami Former Head of the National AIDS Program of Mexico Tuesday, July 7 Digital Marketing Mania Live at 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. PDT, with a recorded replay at 11 p.m. - 12 a.m. PDT Featuring: Oluwakemi Gbadamosi - Moderator Senior Manager for Public Relations and Communications, AHF Africa Bureau Carmella Vong Account Strategist, Google Zach Milewski Account Strategist, Google John Nguyen Associate Director, Global Web Development & Data Analytics, AHF Raif Derrazi HIV+ Bodybuilder & Influencer Valerie Hernández Digital Strategist & Project Manager, Pairus Digital Agency Steve Levin Co-founder, Commando LLC Wednesday, July 8 Transgender Challenges Around the World Live at 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. PDT, with a recorded replay at 11 p.m. - 12 a.m. PDT Featuring: Queen Victoria Ortega - Moderator President of FLUX, and Transgender Rights Advocate Laith Ashley Actor, Model and Influencer Dr. Christiaan Kier Professor of Rehabilitation Therapy, California State University, Los Angeles Anjali Rimi Koka President, Parivar Bay Area Chela Demuir Founder, Unique Woman's Coalition Maya Jafer Actress and Activist The satellite panels and other conference activities will be accessible via the official AIDS 2020 website. A paid conference registration is required to participate, except for the Global Village, which is open to the public. Additional details about AHF's program of participation in AIDS 2020: Virtual are available at "We have lost human contact and grassroots advocacy in AIDS 2020, but we are still coming to this virtual conference with an advocacy mindset and a sense of urgency, because the world is seeing first-hand what happens when we ignore public health or it gets sidelined by politics and profit motives - people die, and they die everywhere irrespective of border restrictions," said Terri Ford, AHF Chief of Global Advocacy Policy. "We want to remind the world, AIDS is not over, COVID-19 is tragic and needs a comprehensive response plan and a leadership overhaul, but we must not abandon one pandemic while we take on another - every single year over 700,000 people still die of AIDS-related illnesses and 1.7 million become newly infected, while millions still don't have access to treatment. This is far from over and we must not forget the lessons learned over the past 30 years!" For more information, please contact Ged Kenslea at gedk@aidshealth.org or (323) 791-5526 About AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.4 million people in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare. View source version on businesswire.com: Contact Ged Kenslea, Senior Director, Communications, AHF +1 323 308 1833 work +1.323.791.5526 mobile gedk@aidshealth.org Denys Nazarov, Director of Global Policy & Communications, AHF +1.202.503.4743 dn@aidshealth.org © 2020 Business Wire, Inc. Disclaimer: This material is not an AFP editorial material, and AFP shall not bear responsibility for the accuracy of its content. In case you have any questions about the content, kindly refer to the contact person/entity mentioned in the text of the release.
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