By Donald G. McNeil Jr., The New York Times

The hormone shot — popular among African women who must use birth control in secret — is as safe as other methods, scientists reported.

For decades, many African women in need of birth control they could use in secret have relied on intramuscular hormone injections that prevent pregnancy for three months.

On May 16, 2019, the University of Washington welcomed Stephen Lewis, co-director of AIDS-Free World, for the Stephen Gloyd Endowed Lecture. Lewis co-founded AIDS-Free World in 2007 with the hopes of starting a non-profit organization that creates more effective worldwide responses to HIV and AIDS. The organization examines several factors within the AIDS epidemic, including discrimination and violence against women, the LGBT community, disabled persons, and poor and marginalized populations.

Globally, less than half of all people living with HIV (PLHIV) have achieved viral suppression. Delays with laboratory testing in resource-limited settings continue to present challenges for monitoring treatment with antiretroviral therapy (ART).
 

By EurekAlert!

Midway into a study in which all participants are offered use of a monthly vaginal ring containing an antiretroviral (ARV) drug called dapivirine, researchers have seen women's risk of acquiring HIV reduced by more than half.