preventing HIV infection in women

A large-scale international microbicide study was halted in January after preliminary results found that the product was not achieving its aims of preventing HIV infection in women. In fact, trials of the drug in some sites found that there was a higher infection rate amongst women who used the cellulose sulphate vaginal gel, compared to the placebo group.¹ UNAIDS regarded the news as “a disappointing and unexpected setback” as “[t]he need to continue research to find a user-controlled means of preventing HIV infection in women is urgent.”²

President Jammeh of The Gambia claimed he could cure AIDS

Also in January came the dramatic announcement by President Jammeh of The Gambia that he had found a cure for AIDS.

“I can treat asthma and HIV/AIDS and the cure is a day’s treatment. Within three days the person should be tested again and I can tell you that he/she will be negative...”³

Jammeh’s claim was soon revealed to be unfounded. A scientist who conducted the tests rebutted the study’s findings, saying that none of the trial patients “could be described as cured.”⁴ Despite the negative outcomes of the trial, the president continued in his belief of his treatment plan, which was also endorsed by the Gambian health ministry and administered in state hospitals. The President of the International AIDS Society Dr. Pedro Cahn called the Gambian president’s claims “shocking and irresponsible”⁵, not only for providing false hope, but also for risking people’s lives by taking them off potent combination antiretroviral therapy.

Good news came to South Africa in March when the government finally developed an ambitious and comprehensive plan to try and tackle the epidemic after years of inaction. Headed up by the deputy president, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, and the deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, the plan aimed to try and reduce the number of new infections by fifty percent, and bring treatment care and support to at least eighty percent of all HIV-positive people and their families.⁶ The new plan was welcomed by national and international health experts, although it was made clear that in order for the new goals to be realised there needed to be a fast track restructuring of the health care system.

Also that month came the first publication by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) regarding recommendations on circumcision and HIV. The guidance came three months after trials in Uganda and Kenya provided conclusive evidence that circumcision reduces the risk of transmission from women to men by around 50-60%. The publication stressed that men should be taught that circumcision provides only partial protection against HIV, to prevent them developing a false sense of security, and should only be provided as part of a comprehensive HIV prevention package. It also stressed that well-trained practitioners working in sanitary conditions should perform the procedure only after obtaining informed consent.