Speaking Out for HIV Prevention on Capitol Hill

February 06, 2012

	Ambassador Goosby speaks at a briefing on HIV prevention on Capitol Hill. (Photo Credit: EGPAF)

Last week, medical experts from across the field of HIV prevention came together at a Congressional briefing on Capitol Hill to highlight the leading scientific and technological advances for preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS worldwide.

Hosted by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Center for Global Health Policy, the briefing outlined the importance of combination prevention strategies as our best hope in achieving a generation free of HIV.

Echoing the recent call to action for an AIDS-Free generation made by President Obama and Secretary Clinton, Ambassador Goosby from the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) shared how PEPFAR is working to halt the spread of HIV around the world.

Goosby outlined four priority areas of combination prevention [PDF, 512KB] where the U.S. government should focus its investment: scaling up AIDS treatment as an HIV prevention tool; preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV; expanding voluntary medical male circumcision; and promoting other high-impact HIV prevention methods, such as condoms.

As one of PEPFAR's lead implementing agencies, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is working to support efforts to scale-up combination prevention activities. In partnership with Johns Hopkins University, USAID is conducting research to evaluate combination prevention efforts in Tanzania as part of a larger research initiative that PEPFAR announced last fall to study issues of scale-up of HIV combination prevention.

A new tool in HIV prevention, AIDS treatment is now considered one of the key strategies for reducing the spread of HIV across the globe. Dr. Diane Havlir, co-chair of the 2012 International AIDS Society conference and professor at the University of California-San Francisco, reiterated evidence this week that AIDS treatment can reduce HIV transmission rates and that the benefits of treatment can help individuals and entire communities reduce the spread of HIV and other diseases, like TB.

Panel discussion. (Photo Credit: EGPAF)

Preventing HIV transmission from mother to baby is another key issue in the scale-up of combination prevention. Dr. RJ Simonds, from the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, spoke about the progress made in the last 30 years in reducing HIV infection in infants and keeping their mothers alive. He emphasized the need for strong political commitment and improved access to medical services in order to eliminate pediatric AIDS.

Dr. Renee Ridzon, from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, highlighted the feasibility and acceptability of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) as an important tool for HIV prevention. In countries with high HIV prevalence, male circumcision is a highly effective, low cost way to prevent the spread of HIV. Through PEPFAR, USAID is working to scale-up the number of male circumcisions by 4.7 million in the next 2 years.

Other comprehensive prevention methods, like condoms and syringe exchange, are important for key populations, including injecting drug users (IDUs) and men who have sex with men (MSM). Dr. Chris Beyrer, from Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health & Human Rights addressed the importance of condom distribution, access to AIDS treatment, and other services as a package of prevention tools for these populations.

To halt the spread of HIV across the globe, we need to make combination HIV prevention a priority. We are entering a new era and by utilizing all the tools in our arsenal, there is a real opportunity to mark the beginning of the end of AIDS and improve the lives of millions around the world.