How much did it cost to attend the International AIDS Conference in Barcelona last July? If you are the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), about $3.6 million. The figure came to light when 28 conservative Republican congressmen signed on to a July 17 letter to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson asking for details about the conference. The $3.6 million paid for 236 employees to attend the conference. That works out to slightly more than $15,000 per person, about the cost of HIV drugs for one person for one full year in the US.
Attendees came from NIH, CDC, FDA, and the Secretary’s office. But the number does not include people from both the developing world and U.S AIDS. groups who may have attended with HHS grant support.
The congressmen also asked that representatives from faith-based groups be included in future delegations to AIDS conferences.