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You can call it a soul-winning convention and you would not be far from right as countries, organisations and identifiable groups at the just-ended 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia preached the �gospel� according to HIV and AIDS. Over 100 countries and organisations mounted exhibitions to showcase what they were doing in response to the HIV and AIDS in their respective countries and organisations. From flyers, research findings, and intervention strategies to souvenirs such as pens, T-shirts, condoms, bracelets and posters, the exhibitors arranged their items to attract delegates to their stands. Some of the exhibitors had video documentaries to explain what their countries were doing as interventions. The exhibitors used the opportunity to explain what their respective countries were doing in response to the HIV pandemic. Ghana�s response At the Ghana stand, the Technical Co-ordinator of the Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), Ms Olivia Graham, explained that the response to the fight against HIV and AIDS was very encouraging. She said the Ghana stand displayed flyers, research findings and other literature, which other countries picked to understudy how Ghana had so far handled the pandemic and what lessons they could learn. Explaining further, Ms Graham explained that Ghana was contributing to knowledge on the virus, adding that �In Ghana, the response is multi-sectoral. We involve everybody from the top to the grassroots in the response. So, Ghana is doing very well though there are pockets of high prevalence in some regions and some populations but overall, comparing previous and current prevalence, it has come down.� She said most of the visitors to the stand requested for the literature and soft copies to find out how Ghana had performed, adding that �Ghana had achieved about 76 per cent reduction in re-infection, elimination of mother-to-child transmission, while new infection is drastically going down. So, we are meeting most of the targets.� Prevalent rates On the prevalent rate in Ghana, Ms Graham said the general prevalent rate was about 1.3 per cent, explaining that the regional rates hovered between 0.8 and 3.7 per cent. Touching on key populations in Ghana, she said according to the Ghana Strategic Document on HIV and AIDS, the prevalent rate among the key populations was significantly high. She said the key populations in the country were mainly men sleeping with men (MSM), female sex workers and those who inject drugs. Ms Graham said, for instance, that the prevalent rate among MSM was 17.5 per cent, while that of the female sex workers was 11.1 per cent, stressing that, �if we don�t target them with the interventions, and we leave it just like that, the gains we have made will be eroded. So, at the public health standpoint, we target them.� Stigma Ms Graham said GAC was working on reducing stigma, adding that currently, there were HIV Ambassadors, some of whom were part of the trip to Australia to understudy how other countries were addressing it, �So, now we are telling people the new face of HIV. The fact that you have HIV is not a licence to die, because HIV now is like a chronic disease such as asthma and diabetes.� Long queues Former US President Bill Clinton, in an address, stated that finding more economically efficient ways to respond to the HIV was vital to saving lives and preventing the spread of the virus. The 90/90/90 goals President Clinton, who advocates globally for health security, said the development of super-efficient systems could �help in the 90/90/90 goals�. The UNAIDS has set a target that by 2020, 90 per cent of people with HIV would know their status, 90 per cent of people living with HIV would be receiving anti-retroviral treatment and 90 per cent of people on treatment would have undetectable viral load. The former US President noted that one of the biggest challenges of attaining the 90/90/90 was how to deliver care to patients in a better way in rural and remote areas. Mother-to-child transmission Concerning mother-to-child transmission of HIV, Mr Clinton said supporting children with HIV was another challenge, as well as a tremendous opportunity for sustaining progress in the response to HIV, stressing that almost 50 per cent of all new paediatric infections occurred during the breastfeeding period.