Journal of the International AIDS Society Blog

JIAS marks WORLD AIDS DAY 2011, looking at our new buzz words.

“Momentum is on our side. Let us use it to end AIDS – once and for all” The U.N. Secretary General

We are now heading into the fourth decade of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and as never before in its history the progress made so far has given us more optimism and hope to say that an AIDS-free generation is possible.

Marking this year’s World AIDS Day, which brings together people from around the globe to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, we are faced however with many challenges ahead. The economic downturn has stretched the AIDS response to the limits and words such as “cost-effectiveness” are gaining greater importance. In his recent plenary talk at the Caribbean HIV Conference Professor Alan Whiteside, Director of HEARD, JIAS Editorial Board Member and IAS treasurer remarked: ”The key is to recognize constraints and while trying to increase resources, do better with what we have. Efficiency must be a key new word in our vocabulary.”

The AIDS dialogue now revolves around ensuring a sustainable response; “sustainability” meaning “the capacity to endure” (Wikipedia). But Prof Whiteside rightly asked a pertinent question of what do we mean by sustainability and what is it that needs to be sustained? Prevention efforts remain of the highest importance in order address issues such as a growing case load, stretched health systems and strained human resources. Treatment is another key area to be sustained particularly in light of the evidence that treatment can play a role also in prevention efforts.

The JIAS  is engaged in this dialogue by supporting the dissemination of findings from operational studies, from the implementation field, health economics and modelling. A recent article addressing these issues was published for example in May 2011 by Sydney Rosen and colleagues on “The net cost of incorporating resistance testing into HIV/AIDS treatment in South Africa: a Markov model with primary data”. Cross-disciplinary and innovative approaches are now more needed than ever and the JIAS will continue to be a platform for sharing essential knowledge.

Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 15:58    Comments (0)