Actually, that criticism has been made of every international AIDS meeting since the first one in Atlanta in 1985. The issue that became abundantly clear in South Africa was that merely having the meeting in South Africa saved lives. AIDS research has made incredible progress when measured against the usual timelines existent with other diseases. But not in Asia, Africa, parts of Europe, the Caribbean and South America. Without radical change, as many as ten million South Africans will die in the next ten years.
Science has a responsibility to society.
We have repeatedly seen what happens when science operates in a vacuum. We as scientists have a responsibility to society to make sure that our work can affect the good that is its goal. Their energy and commitment have done wonders in changing the course of the epidemic. Having our meetings in countries where the epidemic is most prevalent is another. The public attention brought to the failure of the government of South Africa to engage the issue of HIV in a responsible manner will save lives.