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Statement on ART as Prevention

HIV and AIDS Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission

More in the News

  • The next round of reporting on the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS will take place in 2010. Country progress reports should be submitted no later than 31 March 2010. The Philippines has submitted three UNGASS reports (2004, 2006 and 2008). Tthrough the years, the Philippines has much improved its data report. In fact, The 2008 Philippine Country report was lauded by UNAIDS for having the most comprehensive data reported by a country.

    • Geneva – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has suspended all five of its grants to the Tropical Disease Foundation (TDF) in the Philippines after evidence emerged of unauthorized expenditure. TDF’s grants for malaria, tuberculosis and HIV will be transferred to new principal recipients in the country.

  • An investigation by the Office of the Inspector General revealed that around US$ 1 million out of total disbursements of US$ 85 million were spent on activities beyond the terms of the grant agreement. The Global Fund has demanded repayment of the unauthorized expenditures.

Newsletter

The first Round Table Discussion on Philippine HIV Researches gets underway, with representatives of DOH, UN, and members of the inner circle in attendance.

30 October 2009

Civil Society Statement on ART for Prevention

URGENT SIGN ON BY OCTOBER 30

On 14-15 October 2009, civil society organizations from around the world came together to discuss the many issues related to ART as prevention. Participants decided to issue a statement to the participants at the forthcoming consultation on ART as prevention hosted by the World Health Organization, to be held in Geneva on 2-4 November.

The statement welcomes the attention being given to ART as prevention, as a promising way to accelerate progress toward universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services. It highlights the importance of addressing underlying human rights violations as well as clinical and health-systems challenges in order to make the most of this intervention and ensure scale up of voluntary HIV testing and treatment and timely initiation of treatment. It makes a number of recommendations that need to be taken into account in any planning and implementation of feasibility or pilot studies related to ART as prevention. In particular, it highlights the importance of supporting and strengthening civil society organizations and meaningful participation of communities in which studies are planned.

The statement has already been endorsed by the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa; AIDS Law Project, South Africa; European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG); Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+); Human Rights Watch; International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW); International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO); International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC); and the Open Society Institute's Public Health Program.

We strongly encourage other organizations to sign on by Friday, 30 October, by sending an email toart4prevention@icaso.org.

Statement on ART as Prevention

SOURCE: International Council of AIDS Service Organizations


22 October 2009

Reactions to the Recent HIV Vaccine Tests in Thailand

The vaccine that has been the subject of much discussion, hope, debate, and criticism over the past months pertains to the Phase III HIV Vaccine Trial known as RV144. The study was sponsored by the United States Army through the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP), which aimed to “protect US troops from infection and reduce the global impact of the disease”. The study was then conducted by Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, and involved more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand. The vaccine combination was based on HIV strains commonly circulating in Thailand.

Results of the trial reportedly show the vaccine regimen to be safe and 31.2% effective at preventing HIV infection. It was described as having a modest level of efficacy (NEJM abstract) and was considered a major step forward for HIV vaccines. The research team used three different statistical analyses but provided results from only one in their initial report. This spawned various criticisms about their findings.

While the initial trial showed a reduction of infection by about 31%, a second “per protocol” analysis was performed with only 12,450 subjects who got the entire vaccine series or the placebo and stayed in the trial to the end. Results showed this time that it seemed to reduce infections by 26%, with a 16% chance that the results were due to chance.

A third trial based on an intention-to-treat analysis, included all patients originally enrolled in the trial, that is, it included seven infected patients that were excluded in the initial trial. It was also 26% effective with an 8% chance that the results were only due to chance. Since vaccine trials are done in these ways, the results only show that any effect of the vaccine was “exceptionally modest.”

Statisticians however interpreted the results differently. In an article written in the New York Times, Donald A. Berry, chairman of biostatistics at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas preferred to accept the modified intent to treat analysis since it was the “endpoint they said early on they would use.” However he commented that all three results were really the same and doesn’t make much difference. He was succinct in his overall impression: “the vaccine does not work”.

 

18 September 2009

Bayview Park Hotel

T.H.I.S. September: Sex and Drugs

The first of a series of Round Table Discussions on Philippine HIV Researches were undertaken, with talks focusing on HIV, Injecting Drug Use, and Sex. Under the auspices of the UNAIDS, the program was held at the Bayview Hotel, Manila, facilitated by Mr. Joel de Mesa and Dr. Madz Salva.