Walking into a United Nation’s meeting about technology and innovation in AIDS treatment, I expected to hear loads about vaccine research, mobile apps and medical devices. And while those ideas were certainly given mention, most of the country representatives at the AIDS High Level Meeting on Thursday here in New York were more concerned with basic access to technology that is already out there.
As the speakers from various countries gave their statements, the diversity in their needs was immediately apparent. While the Indian representative pushed for reform of intellectual property rights to enable the production of cheaper, generic drugs, Mozambique and Nigeria stressed a more basic need: text message and GPRS (general packet radio service) printers so that isolated clinics can easily access their patients’ medical records.
“Innovation is important, but when it is unaffordable and cannot reach the poor, we have missed the point,” says panelist Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization.
Access to products and healthcare made up the bulk of the discussion at the panel: Drugs need to be cheaper, diagnostic tests faster (and cheaper), reagents to run CD4 counters more accessible and cheaper; did I mention that drugs need to be cheaper? But who has access to these services was just as critical. Many countries emphasized extending protection to maligned groups such as sex workers and drug users, and also to those who are already HIV positive, allowing them a better quality of life and to prevent them from being infected with multiple strains.
“So far, prevention has focused largely on the HIV negative,” says panelist Christoforos Mallouris, program director of the Global Network of People Living with HIV. “But those living with HIV need prevention technologies too — they’re not just vessels of transmission.”
The most-discussed technology at the session was vaginal microbicide gel, which recent evidence suggests can decrease HIV infection rate by 50% and is currently in clinical trials, fitting into a larger theme of the session: the empowerment of women. Women are more at-risk for contracting HIV, due to both biological and social factors. Because of this delivering tools for women to protect themselves is critical, Chan says. “Women stands for ‘well-organized men’,” she jokes.
Image: Margaret Chan presenting at the AIDS High Level Meeting June 9, 2011; UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras