PLOS Medicine: Setting targets for HIV/AIDS — What lessons can be learned from other disease control programs?
First authors Tazeem Bhatia, specialty registrar in public health for the global health team at Public Health England, and Jamie Enoch, research assistant on AIDS policy at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and colleagues discuss setting targets for HIV control using relevant lessons and experiences from malaria, leprosy, and tuberculosis control programs. The authors write, “Several important lessons emerge from our analysis that should be considered in developing future goals and targets for HIV control. Engagement of stakeholders as well as multidisciplinary scientific expertise … Balance between ambition and caution when setting targets … Avoiding burdensome reporting and conflicting targets … Retention of specialist skills … Sustaining investment and political commitment as incidence falls” (2/4).