New prevention technologies highlighted during transfer of EU presidency

On 24 June 2004, a one-day conference titled New Preventive Technologies: Providing New Options to Stop the Spread of HIV/AIDS was held in Dublin to mark the transfer of the European Union presidency from Ireland to the Netherlands. Ireland is an active supporter of both AIDS vaccine and microbicide research (through IAVI and the International Partnership for Microbicides). The focus of the meeting marked the hope that these issues will continue to receive attention during the following Presidency. Speakers at the conference included Kapil Sibal (Minister of Science and Technology, India), Tom Kitt (Minister for Development Cooperation, Ireland), Zeda Rosenberg (CEO, IPM) and Seth Berkley (CEO and President, IAVI). After the meeting, Kitt said that they had “agreed on priority actions to improve and speed up the development of urgently needed new preventive technologies such as HIV vaccines and microbicides.”