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| HIV/AIDS It has been well documented that reproductive tract infections (RTIs) facilitate the transmission of HIV. In the absence of RTIs, the risk that HIV will be transmitted during a single sexual act is quite low; however, if one partner has a genital ulcer (caused by herpes, chancroid, or syphilis, for example) this risk may increase 300-fold. An important obstacle to slowing the HIV/AIDS epidemic is the large number of undiagnosed, untreated, or ineffectively treated RTIs. Early diagnosis and effective treatment of RTIs can therefore be expected to have a significant effect on reducing HIV infection. Recent research efforts were aimed at finding ways to improve the diagnosis and treatment of RTIs. In one multi-country study (Brazil, Cambodia, Ghana, and Latvia) the Population Council, through Horizons, is endeavoring to develop, implement, and evaluate a strategic process and practical tools for use by program managers and other decisionmakers to prioritize interventions targeting RTIs, particularly those that are sexually transmitted. Priority recommendations resulting from use of the tools are now being implemented at the national level in Cambodia and Latvia. Similar implementation schemes are planned in Brazil and Ghana. Another study, in Zimbabwe, examined the feasibility, acceptability, and impact on participants of an experimental approach to expanding antenatal services by training clinic and outreach staff to educate and counsel pregnant women and their partners on HIV/RTI risk. Finally, a three-country study (in South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) aims to compare different RTI control approaches that target the general population and/or core groups with high rates of partner change. |
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