access HIV prevention, treatment and care.

The Pope’s comments elicited criticism from several EU states and the World Health Organization who responded that such a message was not only incorrect but dangerous. The Dutch Development Minister said it was "extremely harmful and very serious" that the Pope was "forbidding people from protecting themselves".⁵⁹

Protesting Section 377 of India's Penal Code

Anti-discrimination legislation received a boost in India in July as the high court overturned section 377 of India's Penal Code which had banned homosexuality.⁶⁰ This 150-year-old law had stigmatised a marginalised group in Indian society, making it difficult for men who have sex with men to access HIV prevention, treatment and care.

In August researchers in North Carolina announced that they had mapped the entire genome of HIV-1. One of the researchers stated, “We are beginning to understand tricks the genome uses to help the virus escape detection by human host.”⁶¹

September saw renewed, but short-lived hope that an ‘AIDS vaccine’ may not be far off. The United States military, in partnership with researchers in Thailand released results from a trial which tested a combination of two vaccines dubbed ‘RV144’. The trial, with 16,000 participants, was the largest ever conducted.⁶² The preliminary analysis of the results claimed to provide a 33% chance of protection against HIV. However, closer investigation of the data revealed that the supposed effectiveness was actually lower (26%) and could have been due to chance.⁶³ The leaders of the study were criticised for not revealing both sets of data at the same time and therefore misleading the general public and scientific community.

Also in September, a report from UNAIDS and the WHO showed an increase in those receiving HIV treatment, with a 36% increase in access to ARVS for those living with HIV in just one year. The most progress was seen in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, the report showed that in 2009 ‘approximately 45% of HIV positive pregnant women are receiving ARVS when only 35% had access in 2007.’⁶⁴ However the report also contained a note of caution. In particular, it highlighted the possibility that an increased funding gap as a result of the recession in 2009 could jeopardise access to life-prolonging drugs.