Huffington Post: Looking to a New Era for Women’s HIV Prevention
Zeda Rosenberg, chief executive officer of the International Partnership for Microbicides

“This World AIDS Day, global resolve to end the AIDS epidemic has never been stronger. With its new Fast-Track strategy, UNAIDS has set ambitious goals for accelerated action in the fight against HIV. … Preventing HIV among women must be central to this effort. … Existing prevention methods such as male and female condoms are not always realistic options for women. They need tools they can use easily and discreetly. Promising new products such as microbicides could soon transform how women protect themselves. These products are vaginal gels, rings, films, and tablets that deliver the same types of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs used to successfully treat those already infected with HIV. … Together, let’s make this the start of a new era for women’s HIV prevention” (11/25).

Huffington Post: We Can’t Wait Five Years to See if the AIDS Response Is on Track
Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC

“…We just can’t wait five years to see if the AIDS response is on track. We need ambitious, yet feasible, short-term targets and strategies to be just as well-defined, and just as rigorous, as the longer-term goals that UNAIDS has worked to advance. … In a new AVAC briefing paper issued today, Prevention on the Line, we describe what’s needed to ensure that a comprehensive response is driven by smart planning, sufficient resources and accountability. We argue that there are three critical elements of a more coordinated, effective and accountable AIDS response between now and 2020. First, prevention programs need to respect human rights and the realities that communities face. … Second, we need to invest in global scale-up of oral PrEP. … Third, we need to keep driving ahead with research into additional new prevention and treatment options…” (11/25).