the Swiss Federal Commission for HIV/AIDS published

History

At the beginning of 2008 the Swiss Federal Commission for HIV/AIDS published the findings of four studies, showing that people living with HIV who take effective antiretroviral therapy cannot pass on the virus through unprotected sex, as long as they adhere to the drugs, have an undetectable viral load for at least six months, and have no other sexually transmitted infections. It was not possible to prove conclusively that transmission is impossible, however the commission reported that scientific evidence showed the risk to be “negligibly small”. ²¹

The Swiss statement was met by immediate controversy, with questions over the reliability of its conclusions coming from HIV/AIDS advocacy groups as well as scientists. Concerns focused on the fact that the research was based solely on heterosexual couples and therefore neglected to include anal sex ²². UNAIDS and the WHO quickly issued a statement stressing that consistent use of condoms was still the safest protection against HIV. ²³

Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS

In April, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Peter Piot, announced that he would be stepping down at the end of the year. An editorial in The Lancet praised Piot for having “raised the profile of HIV/AIDS so successfully that the epidemic has remained a high priority on health, political and security agendas". ²⁴ Later in the year it was announced that Michel Sidibé would be Piot’s successor. ^{25 26}

In June, a team of scientists in South Africa were tried and found guilty by a South African court for conducting unauthorised medical trials and selling unregistered vitamin supplements as a treatment for AIDS. One of the supervisors of the illegal trials, Matthias Rath, was already widely criticised for his promotion of vitamins as a substitute for antiretroviral drugs. The South African court halted the medical trials and banned Rath from advertising his natural AIDS remedies. It also highlighted the responsibility of the South African government and its failure in not preventing Rath from distributing his products