via AVAC

This AVAC report presents a three-part agenda for ending the AIDS epidemic. It is intended as a vision and a challenge to the field, and a first step in holding all of us—civil society, researchers, governments, and funders—accountable for progress.
Each of the major priorities below demands action now—but the dividends will come in the short, medium, and long terms.

1. DELIVER today’s proven strategies at scale for immediate impact
•Model combination prevention programs to identify the parameters that are essential for scale-up to have a major impact on infections

•Mobilize demand for new tools among people who could benefit, through social marketing and other efforts

•Reprogram existing resources when evidence shows they could be used to greater effect

•Fund evidence-based scale-up today—and save money in the future—through substantial increases in commitments from U.S., European and developing country funders.

2. DEMONSTRATE and roll out newly available HIV prevention tools, including PrEP and microbicides, for even greater impact in 5 to 10 years

•Plan for the introduction of PrEP and microbicides in the next several years, and for follow-on research needed to address questions that remain unresolved in trials to date

•Pilot these interventions through demonstration projects that help define their optimal use and real-world impact

•Prioritize the use of these interventions in populations, and in combinations, where the potential benefits are greatest

3. DEVELOP long-term solutions—including an effective vaccine and a cure—that will enable us to close the door on AIDS

•Sustain funding for research, to capitalize on recent scientific insights that have begun to revitalize the search for a vaccine, while pursuing new leads that may eventually result in a functional cure for HIV infection.

Read the full report here.

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article’s content, whether in support or in opposition.]