This conference was held in Cape Town, South Africa from 9 - 12 May 2004 and attracted over 350 delegates from 33 countries. The theme of the conference was "Social Aspects of Access to Care and Treatment". The conference was seen as a vehicle to:

• Improve the effectiveness of SAHARA.
• Integrate SAHARA's activities with those of others active in HIV and AIDS work in Africa.
• Share information on progress and experience in social aspects of HIV/AIDS research.
• Identify the barriers to interaction between researchers and decision makers in government ministries so as to enhance the impact of research.

This was seen as particularly important in view of the increase in overall activity anticipated following the establishment of the Global Fund against Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria and other international initiatives. The conference was seen as a unique opportunity for African researchers to make inputs to a continent-wide research alliance on the social aspects of HIV/AIDS.

You can download the programme, a list of abstracts and the conference report.