Jacquelline Fuller Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Phone: 206.709.3400 Email: [email protected]
BARCELONA, Spain -- Helene Gayle, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's former program director for HIV/AIDS and TB, today reaffirmed the foundation's commitment to HIV prevention. Dr. Gayle delivered the opening plenary on prevention at the XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, where she is leading the foundation's delegation and is participating in several meetings and working groups.
During her plenary session, Dr. Gayle discussed the results of a new study, Global Mobilization for HIV Prevention, which lays out a blueprint for how to ensure that all those in need of effective prevention receive it.
"This study estimates that, if left unchecked, there will be 45 million new HIV infections by 2010. We can prevent 28 million—63%—of these projected new infections," Dr. Gayle explained. "Currently only about 1 in 5 people at risk for HIV have access to prevention information and services."
The study was conducted by the Global HIV Prevention Working Group, which was convened jointly by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Kaiser Family Foundation. The group is chaired by Dr. Gayle, J.V.R. Prasada Rao of the Indian Health and Family Welfare Ministry and David Serwaada of Makere University in Uganda.
Dr. Gayle also reaffirmed the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's commitment to HIV prevention as a cornerstone of its global health strategy. "Stopping the transmission of HIV is the foundation's highest global health priority. Since 2000, the foundation has contributed $450 million to AIDS-related organizations and programs."
The foundation's current AIDS priorities include:
Expanding and accelerating the development of HIV vaccines, microbicides, and other prevention technologies for use in developing countries.
Proving the effectiveness of new and innovative prevention strategies and supporting prevention programs in countries where they can have the greatest impact.
Ensuring access to proven protection and treatment services by crafting innovative financing solutions and enlisting the support of governments and other donors.
Building public health leadership in developing countries and supporting HIV/AIDS advocacy at all levels.
Dr. Gayle and the foundation will also host the premiere of an important new documentary film directed by Rory Kennedy, Pandemic: Facing AIDS, which presents the stories of women and men in Uganda, India, Russia, Thailand and Brazil who live with the disease.