The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, has lamented delays in getting visa by delegates who want to attend global health events in Canada.
Adetifa lamented after there were concerns over visa delays by delegates to attend the 2022 International Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Conference.
The 24th International AIDS Conference will take place in Montreal, Canada, between July 29 and August 2, 2022.
The conference is themed ‘Re-arrange & follow the science’ and it seeks to define future research agendas, shift the latest evidence to action, and chart a new consensus on surmounting the Human Immunodeficiency Virus epidemic as a threat to public health and individual well-being.
In a recent tweet, the NCDC DG said Canada should no longer be allowed to host any global health meetings.
Adetifa said this while reacting to the news that a minimum of 400 people from developing nations were still waiting for visa approval so they could travel to Canada for the conference.
He tweeted: “Sadly, this is already happening for other meetings. #Canada should simply not be allowed to host any important global health meetings from now on.”
Canada is hosting the world’s largest conference on HIV and AIDS for the first time.
In a statement issued on its website, the organizers of the conference disclosed that they were working with Canadian authorities to fasten visa approval for attendees.
The statement read: “We’re committed to supporting everyone from all countries with the travel process to attend AIDS2022 in Montreal. We’ve been working closely with Canadian authorities to understand visa requirements and share that information with registrants to ensure necessary documentation is submitted on time.”
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