Hiding in plain sight: the role of contraception in preventing HIV

Time to refocus on HIV prevention and contraception

As the US Congress embarks on the process of reauthorising its programme to fight HIV and AIDS, and as other global donors recalibrate levels and allocations of funding for HIV/AIDS programmes, prevention seems to be making a comeback. This Guttmacher Policy Review argues that refocusing the priority on prevention is long overdue. The author argues that a revitalised and more robust effort focused on HIV prevention must fully capitalise on the critical role of contraceptive services in fighting AIDS. The review considers the need for progress on prevention, contraception as a form of prevention and US policy implications of these approaches.

The review highlights that for individual women who live where HIV is rampant, the interrelatedness of HIV prevention and unintended pregnancy prevention is a practical reality. It argues that greater access to contraceptive services, whether among women in HIV treatment programs, prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs or counselling and testing programs, or among women in traditional family planning programs in high-HIV-prevalence countries is a “win-win-win situation.” It increases the chances that women living with HIV can prevent future pregnancies they do not want.

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Hiding in plain sight: the role of contraception in preventing HIV