Microbicides
Consultation on HIV treatment in the context of prevention trials
Should HIV prevention trials provide ARV treatment to those who become HIV positive?
Authors:
E. Bass
Publisher:
Global Campaign for Microbicides, 2003
This document reports on a consultation in February 2003 on HIV treatment in the context of prevention trials, organised by the Global Campaign for Microbicides and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). Common themes to emerge from the meeting included the need to: better document care provided in the context of research; improve understanding of and connection with global funding mechanisms; pursue consortium-style approaches; and anticipate sharing of medication among those with no alternative means of accessing care.
Participants felt there was a need to move away from discussions of ethical versus unethical standards of care for prevention trials. Underlying this consensus was that in some areas of prevention research, study teams would have to be completely redesigned in order to provide anti-retroviral therapy (ART), and in other areas it may be impossible to meet the financial requirements of ART provision. Several next steps were proposed, including: requesting that microbicide and other prevention field researchers be included in the UNAIDS 2003 revision of its Ethical Guidelines for Vaccine Trials; and engaging other groups, like the African AIDS Vaccine Programme Community Task Force and advocacy organisations, in broader discussions of how to develop and implement Standard of Care provisions. [adapted from authors]
