The XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) will be held July 2012 in Washington, DC. As the custodian of the conference, the International AIDS Society (IAS) made the decision because the United States is repealing its HIV travel ban, effective January 4, 2010. The last time the conference was held in the United States was 1990 in San Francisco. 

“The return of the conference to the United States is the result of years of dedicated advocacy to end a misguided policy based on fear,rather than science, and represents a significant victory for public health and human rights,” said Elly Katabira, MD, president-elect of IAS and professor of medicine at Makerere University in Uganda, who also will serve as the international chair of AIDS 2012.  

More than 25,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, advocates and policymakers from nearly 200 countries are expected at AIDS 2012. Theconference will be held July 22 to 27 at the Walter E. Washington ConventionCenter. 

The IAS selection process also took into consideration the many key players in the global response to AIDS based in Washington, DC,including the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, which directs the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the National Institutes of Health and the World Bank.