Promising HIV prevention

„After a clinical trial in South Africa this summer found that an experimental vaginal gel containing the antiretroviral Tenofovir reduced the risk of HIV infection in female volunteers by 39%, the FDA has agreed to rapidly review further studies of the gel. As for vaccines, the first proof of efficacy — albeit modest efficacy — in an HIV vaccine candidate was established in a large clinical trial in Thailand last year. Follow-up studies are being planned. And the discovery of multiple, potent antibodies that neutralize many strains of HIV has suggested new avenues for the design of AIDS vaccines.

According to some projections, adding microbicides and pre-exposure prophylaxis to the fully scaled-up implementation of available HIV prevention options could cut the global HIV infection rate in half. A broadly effective vaccine, on top of that, could eventually finish AIDS off.

Though the science for these new tools is promising, the funding base is flat, despite large investments of stimulus dollars by the United States government. The U.S. deserves praise for financing the lion's share of both HIV treatment in Africa and HIV prevention research internationally. Other donor countries that are contributing to HIV treatment globally should also make simultaneous and significant investments in new prevention methods to ensure that their HIV costs won't rise indefinitely. Governments of developing countries can also play their part, first by instituting proven HIV prevention efforts while being accountable for results as measured by reductions in new infections. Second, they can demand the development of new HIV prevention tools as passionately as they have demanded universal access to HIV treatment.”