HIV and AIDS
Complex Role for Marriage in HIV Risk, Studies Find
If present patterns
continue, in the next decade more than 100 million girls will be child
brides, that is, married before the age of 18, according to Council research.
“In some cultures, girls are married off at very young ages due to poverty,
custom, and in some cases the idea that it provides protection from HIV and
other threats. But our research clearly shows that marriage per se, and
child marriage especially, cannot be assumed to be a sexual safety zone,”
explains Council researcher Judith Bruce. “Girls married at a young age are
actually at a higher risk than unmarried girls for HIV infection in some
settings.” Delaying marriage, however, does not improve safety. “Delaying
marriage until the mid- to late-twenties often results in a period of
high-risk sex involving multiple or serial partners,” says Council
demographer John Bongaarts.
HIV and AIDS
Examining the Rollout of Pediatric Antiretroviral
Treatment in South Africa
“We are grossly
undersupplying antiretroviral drugs to children, and our prevention of
mother-to-child transmission program is not working at this site. As a
result children are dying in hoards,” explained one doctor who was
interviewed as part of a study of pediatric HIV treatment in South Africa.
While not all the findings were as grim as the one just quoted, the studies
revealed significant deficiencies in pediatric HIV treatment in South Africa.
Drug Development
Meeting Explores Pricing of Pharmaceutical Products
The Population Council
convened a daylong meeting of an eminent group of academics, scientists,
representatives from the nonprofit sector, the pharmaceutical industry,
foundations, and government donor agencies, as well as practicing lawyers
and doctors—all of whom have a connection with pharmaceutical products. The
purpose of the Day of Dialogue was to explore ways of getting medicinal
products—especially those invented and developed partially or fully using
public funding—into the hands of the poor people of the world, wherever they
live.
HIV and AIDS
Ethical Implications of Working with Children
Few resources exist to help program managers and evaluators deal with the
difficult and potentially harmful situations that may arise when working
with children affected by HIV/AIDS. At the request of the US Agency for
International Development (USAID), a steering group was formed composed of
representatives of the Horizons program, Family Health International’s
IMPACT Program, UNICEF, and USAID to develop practical guidelines for those
who work with young people in international settings. The insights and
experiences of this group and others working in the field were collected and
analyzed in a handbook.
Study Design
New Operations Research Handbook Targets HIV/AIDS
As the impact of the
HIV/AIDS epidemic increases, it becomes more and more important to develop
effective programs to prevent, treat, and mitigate its effects. Population
Council public health and operations research experts Andrew A. Fisher and
James R. Foreit have coauthored Designing HIV/AIDS Intervention
Studies: An Operations Research Handbook. The book, written for
program administrators, is a step-by-step guide to creating operations
research proposals that could yield improved HIV/AIDS programs.
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