by Cheryl Overs
The recent Lancet publication of the HPTN 052 study has shown unequivocally that initiation of anti-retroviral treatment (ART) by people with HIV substantially protects their HIV-uninfected sexual partners from acquiring HIV infection, with a 96 percent reduction in risk of HIV transmission.[1]
The announcement in June is a welcome confirmation of what many already suspected – that ART is prevention. The word ‘game-changer’ was, not surprisingly, all over the internet within hours of the publication of the announcement of the closure of the trial. But so were questions about where this leaves the existing approaches to HIV prevention and promotion of sexual and reproductive health. Sex worker advocates immediately recognised that this new evidence could have a significant effect on both the actual conduct of commercial sex and on the programmes, public health policy and legal frameworks around it.