TORONTO, Aug 13, 2006 (AFP) - Mexico will become the first country in Latin America to host the 2008 International AIDS conference, organisers said, as the current this year's biennial gathering opened Sunday in Canada.
The conference, grouping scientists, political campaigners and fundraisers will be held in Mexico City from August 3 to 8.
Its arrival in Mexico will shine a spotlight on the toll the disease has had in Latin America and the Caribbean and will help "chart a course for a stronger and a more effective global response to the pandemic," said Pedro Cahn, Chair of AIDS 2008 and president-elect of the International AIDS Society.
In Latin America, 140,000 people were newly infected with HIV in 2005, bringing the figure for people in the region living with the virus to 1.6 million, according to the agency UNAIDS.
The region's biggest epidemic is in Brazil, which has a third of the region's cases, but the virus is also rapidly spreading in smaller states like Honduras and Belize.
The 2008 conference will be the 17th such event.
This year's conference in Toronto features heavyweight fundraisers like Bill Gates, political superstars like ex-US president Bill Clinton, and top AIDS scientists and caregivers from around the world.
More than 20,000 delegates have registered for the Toronto event, along with more than 3,000 journalists.
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