Experts Discuss Behavior Modification for HIV Prevention

Experts at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City on August 5 discussed ways in which behavior modification—such as delaying intercourse, using condoms, decreasing drug abuse, providing access to needle exchange programs and promoting male circumcision—could help countries worldwide with HIV prevention, The New York Times reports.

According to the article, experts claimed that most countries do not implement prevention programs where they are needed most, which they attribute to a shift in focus and resources from prevention to treatment as antiretroviral medications have transformed HIV/AIDS. Researchers in the prevention and treatment field “need to get married today,” Myron S. Cohen, MD, of the University of North Carolina, told the Times.

Stressing a more comprehensive two-pronged AIDS response, Dr. Cohen added, “We need to be one community.”