An international consortium informs the world’s long-term response to HIV/AIDS

Much has changed in the fields of medicine, science, and technology since the first AIDS cases were reported in 1981. While there have been many successes in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, great hurdles—including the development of an effective AIDS vaccine—remain.

The changing character of the AIDS pandemic requires a long-term view, an understanding of technologies being developed, and recognition of the opportunities and challenges involved in making innovations available to the individuals, families, and communities who lack access to appropriate and effective treatment.

What is possible in the next 25 years, and how can we get there? The “aids2031” initiative aims to find out.

About the project

aids2031 is a two-year effort that seeks to inspire new ideas and inform the global response to HIV/AIDS in the coming decades. This international consortium brings together bright minds and forward thinkers from many sectors—from nongovernmental organizations, governments, industry, and academia—to discuss how our response to the epidemic can be enhanced and strengthened as we look toward the year 2031, which will mark 50 years since AIDS was first reported.

PATH’s participation: a focus on science and technology

PATH’s own president, Dr. Christopher Elias, co-convenes the aids2031 Science and Technology Working Group with the Duke Global Health Institute’s Dr. Michael Merson. The working group will uncover new ideas in science and technology for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and diagnosis; it is also working to identify challenges and propose solutions to advance these new ideas.

Through a series of commissioned papers and consultations, the working group will explore three central questions:

• What critical trends in science and technology may contribute to ending the pandemic or mitigating its human consequences?
• What opportunities and challenges are associated with developing new science into products that prevent or treat HIV/AIDS?
• How can we ensure that individuals in poor countries will benefit from the innovation?

The working group will use the themes that emerge from these activities to recommend a way forward—to bring the powerful focus of science and technology to bear on stopping the AIDS epidemic. Look for the group’s report in mid-2009 and a report on the larger aids2031 initiative in late 2009. You can learn more and sign up to receive updates on this promising work on the aids2031 website.