Monday, 8 February 2021, 4:45 pm
HIV
science has advanced but policies and programmes have been
slow to respond towards ending AIDS, said Mitchell Warren,
co-chair of the global conference on HIV Research for
Prevention (HIVR4P) and Executive Director of AVAC (Global
Advocacy for HIV Prevention).
Scientific advances have
seen huge gains on HIV prevention and treatment fronts.
Sadly, what has not changed is the lack of equity in the
response. Those who are the most marginalized, most
stigmatised and most criminalized continue to remain so. No
wonder, the number of new HIV infections has almost
plateaued at 1.7 million per year, he said.
Having Wide Range of Options to Prevent HIV is Vital by Angela Mohan on February 3, 2021 at 3:32 PM
Various promising preventive options for HIV are available, which might prove to be more acceptable and user friendly to people from diverse communities.
Long-acting dapivirine vaginal ring that has finally seen the light of the day and is under regulatory approval processes of several countries. This long-acting female-oriented HIV prevention option is designed to be used by women discreetly. This silicon ring protects from acquiring HIV for 28 days at a time. The ring has to be replaced once every month.
Other promising products include long-acting injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for women and Islatravir as a once-monthly PrEP pill, as well as a promising new method to induce broadly neutralising antibodies (bNAbs) that could help speed HIV vaccine development.
Shobha Shukla - CNS
While the currently available HIV prevention and treatment tools have helped reduce new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths by 23% and 39% respectively since 2010, we still have a long way to go before ending this epidemic. With 1.7 million new HIV infections and 690,000 AIDS-related deaths in 2019, one cannot but over emphasise the urgent need to have more HIV prevention options, including long-acting HIV prevention strategies that might prove to be more acceptable and user friendly to people from diverse communities.
Topping the list is the much-awaited long-acting dapivirine vaginal ring that has finally seen the light of the day and is under regulatory approval processes of several countries. This long acting female oriented HIV prevention option is designed to be used by women discreetly. It is a silicon ring impregnated with dapivirine which a woman can insert in her vagina and be protected from acquiring HIV for 28 days at a time. The ring has to b
Shobha Shukla - CNS
The message from all scientists is very loud and clear that vaccines alone will not be able to stem the tide of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after getting vaccinated, we will have to continue to wear masks, maintain physical distancing, wash hands frequently and avoid congregated settings, to break the chain of transmission of the virus.
Some leading scientists such as Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Dr Helen Rees, founder and Executive Director of Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa; Dr Robin Shattock, Professor of mucosal infection and immunity, Imperial College London; and Dr Sarah Schlesinger, Associate Professor of Clinical Investigation, Rockefeller University, New York, interacted with a select group of global health writers including me, ahead of HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) International Conference, to be held (virtually) over the
The message from all scientists is very loud and clear that vaccines alone will not be able to stem the tide of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after getting vaccinated, we will have to continue to wear masks, maintain physical distancing, wash hands .