A blog about the 16th International AIDS Conference, Toronto, Canada, August 13-18, 2006.
...goes to Bill Gates.
"A woman should never need her partner's permission to save her own life," said Gates, who gave tonight's keynote address with wife Melinda. They emphasized the need for science to deliver microbicides and oral prevention therapies that will allow women to protect themselves from infection, and announced that the Gates Foundation is throwing substantial support behind the development of preventative agents that can be realized in a shorter time frame than vaccines. More on this to come tomorrow when Bill is joined by Bill Clinton for a symposium entitled "Priorities in Ending the Epidemic"...
As for Bill and Melinda, they'd won the audience members' hearts and minds before they stepped on stage. They were greeting with a standing ovation and left to one. What came in between was a clearly articulated vision for AIDS research and prevention measures that included a lesson from Bill in the "harsh mathematics of this epidemic" and a call from Melinda for "science and evidence untainted by stigma." But mostly, it brought attention to the inequalities that put women at risk for HIV infection--whether they are sex workers or homemakers. The Gates's are far from the first and only people to raise their voices in defense of woman at risk for HIV/AIDS, but their call will resonate further than most.
Comments
Preventative agents are certainly an important part of the strategy against the HIV/AIDS epidemic, but I wonder if Bill and Melinda haven't overlooked a good opportunity to really jumpstart accelerated HIV/AIDS vaccine research, keeping in mind their foundation's new responsibility to use and disperse the entirety of Warren Buffett's donations to them each year.
As I understand it, when we talk about a "cure" for HIV/AIDS, the only answer we have is a vaccine. Despite this, the recent numbers reveal that in 2004 less than 1% of the total HIV/AIDS research funding worldwide was spent on developing a vaccine.
There are indications that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is struggling to effectively utilize and manage the new volume of funds they deal with due to Buffett's contributions. I'd suggest that providing more funding for HIV/AIDS vaccine research, in addition to other preventative agents, would be beneficial, rather than treating this as an "either/or" scenario.
Posted by: Lee Billings![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://scienceblogs.com/aids/nav-commenters.gif)
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August 14, 2006 12:38 PM
I think they're doing both, but since a vaccine is certainly not in the forseeable future, looking at other types of prevention are the next-best thing.
Posted by: Tara C. Smith | August 14, 2006 2:01 PM
It's not an either/or scenario. The Gates Foundation is doing both -- trying to fund short-term (microbicides & oral prevention drugs) and long-term approaches to preventing transmission of HIV.
I'm going to a session at 4:15 pm today on New Targets for Drug Development, so by the end of the day, I should be able to provide a snap shot of the new tacts the scientific community is taking to combat HIV/AIDS.
Posted by: Lindsay Borthwick | August 14, 2006 3:07 PM
HIV vaccine...*sigh. Hope is indeed the opium of the people.
Posted by: pat | August 14, 2006 3:46 PM