In South Africa, there are a predicted 800 thousand to 1.8 million men who have sex with men (MSM). This is a key population to target for HIV prevention since MSM in 38 low- and middle-income countries are 19 times more likely to be infected with the virus than the average, heterosexual male. (1) Subsequently,…
DetailsThe International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) has a fantastic fellowship program, and two of their fellows have been researching at the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation. Separately, they have researched why people refuse HIV treatment and how drugs that prevent HIV transmission can also be used to prevent hepatitis B. Sicily Mburu, an IAVI fellow at…
DetailsThe Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation (DTHF) has an active presence in our local communities in Cape Town. Vuyiseka Mpongoshe has completed a pilot study examining how our presence is felt in these communities to see if we are leaving a lasting impression. There is no doubt that the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation has a lot…
DetailsThe Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation has several studies for young women who want to prevent HIV by taking an oral pill, PrEP. PrEP stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis (‘prophylaxis’ means to prevent disease). Oral PrEP is a pill (Truvada) that is taken once a day to prevent HIV infection. The details of the 3P study are below,…
DetailsEveryone has heard of the different ways that HIV can spread: unprotected sex, sharing needles and childbirth to name a few. But, there is another dangerous perpetrator of HIV that is less obvious: violence against women. Violence against women is a social structure that helps spread HIV infection. It works by affecting women’s ability to…
DetailsCoral Healthcare (India & Australia) have undertaken to provide their top quality condoms to the DTHF as their commitment to being, “proactive doers in the worlds in which we function”. We eagerly look forward to the first consignment that should arrive at the end of October. An Agreement has been signed between the DTHF and…
DetailsA daily pill, a monthly vaginal ring or an injection every two months: These were the prevention options available to young women on the uChoose study to help them prevent HIV infection. Brady Hooley, from the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, presented the findings of this study. There are many new prevention tools becoming available to…
DetailsKey figures leading the fight against HIV discussed the status of the elusive HIV cure. Chaired by Prof Linda-Gail Bekker, Chief Operations Officer at the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, the speakers discussed why we need an HIV cure, is a cure possible and what that cure might look like. The landscape of the disease has…
DetailsOnly one man has ever been cured of HIV. Timothy Ray Brown has been living ten years since an extremely dangerous procedure that removed all the HIV in his body. Frequently referred to as the ‘Berlin Patient’ based on the city the procedure was performed in, Brown came to the “Is an HIV Cure possible?”…
DetailsAt the UN General Assembly meeting Michel Sidibe, Executive Director of UNAIDS, announced that an exciting new pricing agreement has been made to accelerate the availability of the first affordable, generic, single-pill HIV treatment, which will contain Dolutegravir. A potent integrase inhibitor, Dolutegravir is an antiretroviral drug championed due to its low risk of side…
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