AIDSfree appeal: We want capital’s success in fight against HIV to be copied globally

"Positive example”: Paul van Zyl, Rowan Finnegan and Nick Hamilton are co-founders of The Conduit club, which is the venue for the special forum
Edelman PR
Kiran Randhawa16 January 2019

The capital’s successes in fighting HIV will serve as a “positive example” on how to beat the worldwide Aids epidemic during a special forum to be held in London this month, its host said.

Paul van Zyl, whose club The Conduit is the venue for the event, said the city’s achievements needed to be shared.

Following the Evening Standard’s AIDSfree campaign in conjunction with the Elton John AIDS Foundation, government ministers and mayors from six cities, including London, will be joined by medical experts to form a plan of action on tackling HIV together.

The AIDSfree Cities Global Forum on January 30 will focus on the UN’s “90-90-90” targets, which aim to get at least 90 per cent of people with HIV knowing their status, to get 90 per cent of these on treatment, and 90 per cent to have an “undetectable viral load”, where the levels of virus in the blood are so low it cannot be passed on.

London has already reached these goals, but experts say more can be done in both the capital and in the five other cities our campaign is focused on which are yet to achieve the targets — Delhi in India, Nairobi in Kenya, Maputo in Mozambique, Kiev in Ukraine, and Atlanta in the USA.

Mr van Zyl said: “It’s wonderful to showcase things that really work and can be a global example. We know the route to stopping and reversing the spread of the virus. We want the successes achieved by a handful of cities to be followed by dozens. We want to replicate the successes of London across the world.”

The Conduit in Mayfair opened in September as a space dedicated to “bringing together a group of people who are passionate about bringing about positive social change,” said Mr van Zyl. “We think of ourselves as a community, a platform, where talented people, including some of the most senior people in government, in the foundation world, in the philanthropic world, people who are energetic visionaries, can come together to bring about positive social change. We are very much about solutions.”

Mr van Zyl, who opened the club with co-founders Rowan Finnegan and Nick Hamilton, added: “I’m South African and a human rights lawyer. South Africa has been at the epicentre of this global epidemic. It’s impacted the lives of millions of South Africans and so being able to participate in this event is a tremendous honour.”

The eight-floor building has an events floor, rooftop lounge with terrace, restaurant with terrace, a “speakeasy” bar and areas for working and dining. It hosts 200 talks and events a year, open to its 2,000 members. It has run 35 events focused on topics such as Yemen, AI and the future of energy.

Mr Finnegan said the Conduit was an “ecosystem” bringing people together to tackle major issues. Annual membership fees are £1,800, with a reduced rate of £800 for workers in not-for-profit organisations and those aged under 33, and £400 for students.

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