World AIDS Day 2018: Supporting R&D partnerships to tackle HIV
World AIDS Day 2018 marks its 30th anniversary. Significant progress has been made in the fight against the disease during these three decades. However, the Global AIDS Update 2018 report shows that much needs to be done to reach the 2020 targets. According to the report, ‘new HIV infections are rising, HIV-related deaths are not falling fast enough and flat resources are threatening success’.
Over the last 15 years, EDCTP has achieved significant progress in bringing together researchers and institutions in Europe and Africa to advance medical interventions against HIV. EDCTP-funded studies on HIV have made vital contributions to the development of antiretroviral drug formulations tailored to children and facilitating their widespread introduction in Africa. Other studies were carried out in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and in the detection and treatment of opportunistic fungal infections, which are responsible for one in five HIV-related deaths.