Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Thu, 31 Jan 2002
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* AIDS-Related Deaths Could be Cut by 25% by 2010 With Proper Funding
and 'Will,' WHO/United Nations Report Says
* African Ministers Ask U.N. Security Council to Continue Focus on
Continent's Crises, Including HIV/AIDS
* Seaweed-Derived Microbicide Enters Phase III Testing in South Af-
rica and Botswana
AIDS-Related Deaths Could be Cut by 25% by 2010 With Proper Funding
and 'Will,' WHO/United Nations Report Says
The number of AIDS-related deaths could be cut by 25% by 2010 and
deaths from malaria and tuberculosis could be halved over the same
time period at a cost of about $12 billion per year, according to a
new report by the World Health Organization and several U.N. agen-
cies, the Washington Post reports. The 97-page report, which is
scheduled to be released Saturday at the annual meeting of the World
Economic Forum in New York City, states that "insufficient will and
money" are the "major obstacles" to achieving these target goals. The
report calls for a "major new push" against the three diseases and
highlights successful HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria programs in other
countries that could be expanded. One such program recommended in the
report is the TB treatment method called DOTS, or directly observed
therapy, short-course, which includes a six-month regimen of stan-
dardized TB drugs that cures 85% of patients who participate. Health
officials and economic analysts say that helping to reduce disease in
developing nations is a good idea for both economic and ethical rea-
sons. Relieving a country of disease for 15 to 20 years will give it
an economic "boost" and help its citizens out of poverty, analysts
say. The Post reports that the new report "marks an evolution" in the
goals of global health programs because such projects now focus on
curing disease among the adult population, whereas before they fo-
cused primarily on children. The report is being released, "by
chance," in the same week that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuber-
culosis and Malaria was officially launched. Last year, AIDS, TB and
malaria killed 5.7 million people, and the three diseases accounting
for one-tenth of the world's deaths (Brown, Washington Post, 1/31).
--
African Ministers Ask U.N. Security Council to Continue Focus on Con-
tinent's Crises, Including HIV/AIDS
A group of African ministers on Tuesday asked the U.N. Security Coun-
cil "not to forget the continent's conflicts," including the HIV/AIDS
epidemic, as it focuses on terrorism and rebuilding Afghanistan, the
Associated Press reports. The ministers acknowledged that Africans
must "take the lead" in promoting peace and fighting HIV/AIDS, but
asked the council and the international community for monetary assis-
tance. "With the war against terror being won and with Afghanistan on
the road to reconstruction, we consider ... that the time has come to
reactivate the spotlight on Africa," Anil Gayan, Maritius' foreign
minister and the current council president, said, adding that the
council will "not accept that the destiny of Africa is poverty and
despair." U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said that the government
"remains no less committed to Africa" than before mounting its cam-
paign against terrorism, citing U.S. peacekeeping efforts in Ethio-
pia-Eritrea and Congo and the more than half a billion dollars ear-
marked this year to fight HIV/AIDS internationally. However, he said
individual governments must demonstrate the "political courage and
statesmanship necessary to end corruption, respect the rule of law
and seek peaceful ends to the continent's wars" for rebuilding ef-
forts to be successful. U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fre-
chette echoed Negroponte's statements, saying that the Security Coun-
cil, the Organization of African Unity and other regional groups
should "strengthen cooperation" on politics, human rights, peace-
building and HIV/AIDS. "But let us not delude ourselves. None of this
will get very far unless there is real political will -- both on the
part of African leaders, to pursue the quest for peace, and on the
part of members of this council, to act decisively in their support
for Africa," she added (Lederer, Associated Press, 1/30).
--
Seaweed-Derived Microbicide Enters Phase III Testing in South Africa
and Botswana
Carraguard, a microbicide gel that contains a compound derived from
seaweed that is thought to bind to HIV and prevent the virus from in-
fecting cells, will begin Phase III testing this year in South Africa
and Botswana, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Population Coun-
cil, with the aid of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will enroll
6,000 women in the $50 million, four-year study to determine the ef-
fectiveness of the gel. Two thousand women will use four milliliters
of the gel each time they have sex, another 2,000 will use a placebo
gel and the final third will not receive a gel. All women will re-
ceive condoms and be counseled to use them, Dr. Janneke van de Wig-
jert, the lead investigator, explained. The women will then each be
interviewed regularly for two years about their sexual behavior and
health. The gel, which is thought to halt HIV transmission by either
binding to the virus or coating it like a "layer of thick paint,"
also prevented herpes simplex virus type 2, human papillomavirus and
gonorrhea infections in animal trials, and the product was found to
be "acceptable to use" and had no adverse side effects in Phase II
trials in Thailand and South Africa. If the compound is proven to be
effective and receives FDA approval, it "would allow women to take
prevention into their own hands," Dr. Helene Gayle, a senior HIV/AIDS
adviser to the Gates Foundation and former head of the CDC's HIV/AIDS
prevention program, said, noting that "HIV ... is not [spreading]
primarily because of women's risky behavior" but because of the be-
havior of their male partners.
Finding a Backer
Researchers have been looking for compounds that would block the
transmission of HIV and other STDs for nearly two decades, but be-
cause microbicides are not viewed as "potential moneymakers" by phar-
maceutical companies, obtaining funding for microbicide research has
been difficult. Moreover, early attempts at microbicide development
were unsuccessful. For example, researchers had thought that the
spermicide nonoxynol-9 would protect against HIV, but in a four-year
study led by UNAIDS the substance was found to increase the risk of
HIV infection in test groups of African and Thai prostitutes. How-
ever, recent advances have prompted the government and private foun-
dations such as the Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation
to support microbicide research. The Gates Foundation gave $25 mil-
lion to microbicide studies in 2000 and is expected to announce an-
other "multi-million dollar" grant for the Population Council study
this weekend. Three other compounds, including BufferGel, developed
by ReProtect LLC; PRO2000, developed by Interneuron Pharmaceuticals;
and cellulose sulphate, owned by Polydex Pharmaceuticals and all
funded by the government or foundations -- are also entering trials
this year. Although the Population Council has developed Carraguard,
it will seek a marketing partnership with a drug company if the com-
pound receives approval. Such an arrangement is attractive to pharma-
ceutical firms that have gotten out of the microbicide development
business. Barbara Brummer, vice president of women's health for Per-
sonal Products Co., a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, said her group
stopped subsidizing microbicide research about a year ago, but said
that if a "promising" candidate came along, her group "would go back
and look at whether it made sense for us to distribute or manufacture
it" (Zimmerman, Wall Street Journal, 1/31).
--
The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report is published for kaisernetwork.org,
a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by National
Journal Group Inc. � 2002 by National Journal Group Inc. and Kaiser
Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
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