Re: HIV in Rural India- Microbicide is the priority !

[Guest guest]

What Maitreya says about condoms and women's status is very true, especially

in India. I don't think that female condoms will make much difference,

however; the evidence seems to suggest that they require just about as much

negotiation as male condoms, and are far more clumsy to use.

But what about microbicides? They are so much more suitable for women's use

and empowerment - why is there not much more pressure being generated to

make the development of a good microbicide a top priority? They usually seem

to be tacked on as almost an afterthought to discussion or programmes for

vaccines. With its great bio-medical research base, and the kind of really

pressing need Maitreya demonstrates, why is India not in the forefront of

microbicide development?

Godwin

Phnom Penh

E-mail:<peterg@...>

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