Test-and-Treat Program Could Be a "Step Change" in Global HIV Prevention

"The universal testing and treatment programme proposed by Brian Williams has a good chance of delivering a step change in HIV prevention, particularly if combined with safe sex education and male circumcision," Mark Henderson, the Times' science editor, writes in a London Times opinion piece. According to Henderson, antiretrovirals must undergo extensive testing "in African settings" to determine whether the test and treat approach would work. He also highlights the issue of cost. "While containing AIDS would certainly pay for itself in the long run, significant up-front investment will be needed. ... They are certainly not beyond the combined means of Western and African governments, and philanthropic organisations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation," he writes.

Henderson concludes: "To engage these resources, though, firm evidence of efficacy will be needed. That is why the trials that start soon in South Africa are so important" (2/22).

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