Brazilian infectologist and researcher Beatriz Grinsztejn will be the first Latin American woman to serve as president of the International AIDS Society (IAS), an international organization that brings together professionals who work with the disease. She will take office for the 2024-2026 biennium next Friday (26), at the end of the 25th International AIDS Conferencein Munich, Germany.
Beatriz, a researcher at the Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases (INI/Fiocruz), says she will share Brazil’s positive experiences in HIV treatment and prevention with the international community. According to her, the country is a reference in the field and has a “spectacular” program that provides universal and free access to the virus to Brazilian citizens through the Unified Health System (SUS).
“In Brazil, we have access to the best in terms of not only treatment, but also prevention, which sets us apart from most Latin American countries, where pre-exposure prophylaxis is still not accessible to citizens through the public health system,” he said in an interview with Brazilian Communication Company (EBC).
The researcher also advocates increasing resources for research in the country.
“Brazil continues to shine on the international stage, but we need it to have more visibility, to be able to attract more resources for research and to be able to demonstrate internationally all the power of what is done in our country. That is why it is important for us to have a president from the region taking on society.”
Another challenge mentioned by the scientist is the issue of scientific credibility, which has been shaken worldwide in recent years. “Our role as an international society is to promote research and ensure that science is the basis for all public policies and that the community, together with researchers, can take this discussion forward, always based on scientific evidence guiding public policies. In this sense, Brazil is an example. Although we have suffered an impact, we continue to be an example in the perspective that our Unified Health System provides access to technologies that can benefit our population.”
Conference
The 25th International AIDS Conference will take place from July 22 to 26 and is expected to attract 15,000 participants. Organized by the International AIDS Society (IAS), the event will bring together people living with, affected by or working with HIV and AIDS to share knowledge and information about the response to the epidemic over the past 40 years.
Representatives from the Department of HIV, AIDS, Tuberculosis, Viral Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections of the Ministry of Health will be at the event to present results of Brazilian experiences in the response to HIV.
