He says he fears if the U.S. cuts AIDS funding, other nations will follow suit.

“The rest of the world has stood on the benefits of the U.S. government and the people of the U.S. Once they hear that even the U.S. is cutting down they may think it is relevant for them also either to stay [keep] the status quo or to cut the funding,” he says.

Each International AIDS Society president puts his or her mark on the conference, a personal goal, if you will. Dr. Katabira is no different.

“Mine,” he says, “is leadership and accountability. Much as I appreciate the support from all the G8 [nations], including the U.S. and other public/private stakeholders, I want to emphasize that with…the possibility of funding likely to be reduced, ourselves, the recipients, the beneficiaries of this support, need to be more focused in actually maximizing whatever we get from this country. Use the amount of money as effectively and efficiently [as possible], so we can reach much more people than we are doing today with the current funding.”

The 19th International AIDS Conference will be held from July 22nd through the 27th, 2012.