Global plan of action needed to end AIDS

Dec 8 2011

After "President Obama threw the full weight of the U.S. government behind a vision" to end the AIDS epidemic in a World AIDS Day speech, "[n]ow the question is: How will we achieve this goal? What are the priority actions to take today, tomorrow, and years from now?" Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC: Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention, writes in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog. "First and foremost, the resource commitments need to match the strength of the scientific data," he says, adding, "It is precisely at this moment, when the potential dividends are greatest, that the world's modest AIDS investments should be sustained."

He then outlines three steps for a "global plan of action" described in a new AVAC report. "First, deliver today's proven HIV prevention strategies," including access to early HIV treatment and voluntary medical male circumcision, "smartly and on a massive scale," he states. "Second, we need to quickly determine the best uses for emerging HIV prevention options," such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), he says, adding, "Third, we need to press forward in the search for an effective vaccine and a cure for HIV infection." Finally, he states, "We all need to reexamine our use of limited resources, reallocating as needed to ensure that we have the greatest possible impact on the epidemic" (12/6).