Is an AIDS-free Generation Possible?

In a speech given Tuesday at the National Institutes of Health, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a major shift in U.S. fight against AIDS, which she hopes will lead to an “AIDS-free generation.”  Whereas the previous focus under President George W. Bush was on ABC: abstinence, being faithful, and using condoms; the Obama administration wants to concentrate on circumcision, mother-child transmission and “test-and-treat” solutions.  In other words, the strategy is no longer aimed solely at prevention, but rather at scientific intervention and treatment.

Mrs. Clinton’s speech was praised by many, including Dr. Unni Karunakara, international president of Doctors Without Borders, who called it “very encouraging to see the U.S. government wanting to turn the latest H.I.V. science into policies that will save lives while beginning to reverse the epidemic.”  Others, like Dr. Mead Over of the Center for Global Development, were more cautious, stating that “[Mrs. Clinton’s] vision for an AIDS-free generation is ambitious, but we don’t have strong evidence yet that we can achieve that.”  

While Mrs. Clinton did not address many details, such as funding, she did articulate one specific goal: to eradicate mother-to-child transmission of the disease by 2015.  She also emphasized the importance of circumcision for men, multidrug cocktails for pregnant woman, and treatment of patients from the date of infection instead of when symptoms first appear as measures to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Drug companies such as Mylan, maker of an antiretroviral drug which treats one third of HIV/AIDS patients in the developing world, are encouraged at the shift in the administration’s policy.  In reaction to Clinton’s speech, Mylan’s president Heather Bresch commented, “

While the generics industry has made significant contributions toward making HIV/AIDS medicines more affordable, we believe the focus must now turn to expanding access to treatment for more people.  As such we’re heartened that the Obama administration is embracing treatment as prevention and rallying global leaders to help end the global HIV/AIDS pandemic by making the creation of an ‘AIDS-free generation’ a policy priority.

AIDS activists across the world also applauded Clinton’s speech and the administration’s bold new scientific focus in fighting the disease, which is thought to infect nearly 34 million people worldwide.  

To read the New York Times recap:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/health/policy/hillary-rodham-clinton-aims-for-aids-free-generation.html
And for some reactions from Africa:
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?storyid=%7Bfacbe32c-ab0a-4cce-83ec-3e0dc4cbda31%7D
Watch Clinton’s entire speech at the NIH here:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid52223497001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAAGWqYgE~,KxHPzbPALrFyReeXAVeKZGa43PKUv3A9&bctid=1265084101001