Government launches trial of gel to protect women against HIV.(Brief Article)

1902 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The British government, working with agencies in five African countries, have launched a 5-year program to find an effective gel to protect women against HIV infection.

International Development Secretary Clare Short said an effective microbicide - in the form of gel or foam - would empower women to protect themselves from AIDS.

"We need to increase the range of products available that would give women the ability to protect themselves from HIV in ways that they can control," Short told an international conference on HIV prevention in central London.

"An effective microbicide, which must be affordable in poor countries, would be immensely useful."

Institutions in South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Cameroon, Zambia and Britain will collaborate in the $22 million program, sponsored by the British government.

The research will be carried out in Britain by the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit and London's Imperial College.

In parallel, the U.S.-based Rockefeller Foundation is pushing for more research into microbicides and greater financial support from the public and private sector, the government said.