World needs a business plan to end AIDS

Aug 13 2012

In this post in Global Post's "Global Pulse" blog, Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC, a leading HIV prevention advocacy organization, and Chris Collins, vice president and director of public policy at amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, write that "the world needs a business plan to end AIDS." They continue, "To us, ending the epidemic means drastically reducing new HIV infections, while preserving the health of everyone living with HIV," adding, "This is an ambitious vision, and it is achievable if we make smart use of the HIV prevention and treatment options available today, while continuing the search for a vaccine and a cure. It will require clear priorities, ambitious and achievable targets, sustained funding and effective ways to hold ourselves accountable for progress."

"The successes we have seen to date have been driven by advocacy, public will, and scientific advances, along with many of the same factors that define a successful business, including clear objectives and accountability," they write, and note, "At the recent [XIX International AIDS Conference], our organizations presented a proposal for the global business plan to begin ending AIDS, available at www.endingaids.org," which "identifies essential short-term actions for every major group of stakeholders. And while opinions will differ on some of the specifics, three key actions will be essential." According to Warren and Collins, "international agencies and donors need to agree on a limited set of global priorities and targets through 2015," "every country needs its own business plan for ending AIDS," and "we all need to focus our resources on the combinations of tools that can have the greatest impact." They conclude, "If ending AIDS truly were a business, today would be the best time to invest" (8/10).