Recent news
July 2011
Funding shortfall could hinder scientific advances in HIV/AIDS
July 21, 2011 -- Earlier this week at the sixth International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment, and Prevention, scientists said that increased support is needed for medical research to develop revolutionary new tools to roll back the disease. "We are in dangerous times for AIDS funding," said Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and former head of UNAIDS. "Science is running much faster now than what we can implement and what we can pay for."
At the four-day conference, researchers announced results from several landmark trials. For example, the HPTN 052 study showed a more than 96 percent reduction in transmission risk for discordant couples where the HIV-infected partner began antiretroviral therapy earlier. Previous studies found that a daily antiretroviral pill taken by people who do not have HIV can reduce their risk of transmission by up to 73 percent. These possible new prevention options could join male circumcision, a proven measure to protect men against HIV infection, to which a vaginal microbicide, still under development, may one day be added for women. To help pay for further research and increased access to existing tools, advocates at the conference proposed that wealthy and emerging economies devote increased funding to these efforts. Advocates also pointed to innovative financing mechanisms, such as UNITAID. See the link below for more information.
