 
December 4, 2009
Examining the Obstacles to HIV Prevention
What constitutes evidence in the field of HIV prevention? That
was the main topic of discussion on World AIDS Day at the Social Aspects of
HIV/AIDS Research Alliance conference in Johannesburg, PlusNews reports.
According to the article, the global economic crisis and
increasing HIV rates have pressured donors and governments worldwide to
concentrate resources on proven prevention strategies.
Evidence from randomized controlled clinical trials is
considered the best. Such trials have provided evidence that treatment can prevent
HIV transmission from mother to child and that male circumcision can reduce HIV
cases in African men.
However, behavioral and social interventions such as ABC
(abstain, be faithful, use condoms) and programs to reduce multiple concurrent
sex partners often are not easily tested using such trials.
In addition to these limitations, even the proven programs are
not always implemented, often because of insufficient funds or capacity issues.
Political or social considerations are created obstacles.
“We know what works,” said Innocent Ntanganira, regional
advisor on HIV prevention for the World Health Organization. “We need to go to
scale with national prevention programs.”
Search: prevention, Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance
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Dr Teddy, San Francisco, 2009-12-08 14:11:41
Contd.. San Francisco, one of the earliest places for the epidemic- has all the best resources, advocacy included for prevention to work, but evidence shows only after the start of HIV treatment did the epidemic stabilize and is now only endemic( except in Blacks. The treatment reached about 70% of the known infected & since 2005 new HIV diagnosed rate is stable or even slightly(10%) decreasing.
Dr Teddy, San Francisco, 2009-12-08 13:32:22
Dear POZ, why miss the best of all and the most measurable, Treatment as prevention. We preached that people should have less sex for 30 years and I really haven't seen any convincing evidence in any country that it ever worked! Some scare tactics did help some populations in Africa for a short while until they fatigued. Condoms so very much useful if used as a lifelong sex buddy but what really worked for humans that I know of ?TREATMENT! The best example SFO- continued on next comment
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