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About 30 years into the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a new strategy is being launched to better respond to the needs of women and children. The research agenda – called Asking the Right Questions – includes 20 specific recommendations to expand and improve care and treatment. The initiative is a joint effort by the International AIDS Society (IAS), U.N. agencies, researchers and civil society.
IAS Executive Director Robin Gorna says, “We’re nearly three decades into the epidemic and we have the depressing news that AIDS is now the leading cause of death of women of reproductive age across the globe,” she says.
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“Three decades ago, very few women were infected with HIV. It was a minority issue. But sadly, as HIV has taken its increasing toll on women, the pace of research and the response really hasn’t kept up,” she says.
While “excellent treatments” are available, she says, which can prolong life, many have “not been properly researched on women’s bodies.”
As a result, the full effects of those treatments on women are not known.
“Now that more and more women are accessing treatment, what we still don’t know is how we can best get women into care and how we can make sure that care is integrated,” she says.
In Video: Campaign Against Aids
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That includes, she says, ensuring HIV positive pregnant women get the best health care, while at the same time providing the necessary drugs to prevent HIV transmission to their babies.
