South Africa Wants Protection for Women Testing Anti-AIDS Gel

On Monday at the Microbicides 2006 conference in Cape Town, South Africa's health minister called for strong protections for the thousands of women taking part in clinical trials of creams and gels designed to stop HIV.

"The invention of an effective microbicide will ensure that the health of women in relation to sexually transmitted infections will no longer depend on their ability to negotiate safer sex and the balance of power in their relationships with men," Manto Tshabalala-Msimang told attendees of the four-day meeting. "One of the key issues that this conference needs to address is what happens when there are complications from a clinical trial."

"From an ethical point-of-view, we need to answer, how do we compensate patients who suffer such complications and ensure they have adequate insurance," said Tshabalala-Msimang, noting that five of the six microbicides currently in advanced testing stages include nonoxynol 9, a product she said has raised concerns in clinical testing.

Tshabalala-Msimang expressed concern that in poor communities, "providing financial compensation could prove to be perverse incentives. The poor may become desperate to receive these incentives despite the risk. Therefore, informed consent becomes even more critical in this context," she said.

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