On the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, NAT calls for the Government to maintain UK leadership in developing new prevention technologies that will help women protect themselves from HIV.

Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT (National AIDS Trust), comments:
 
‘NAT congratulates the UK Government for being a world leader in supporting HIV prevention research and leading the international commitment to new prevention methods. The UK Government was the very first to provide funding for research into a potential AIDS vaccine over a decade ago. The field of new prevention technologies is developing everyday and NAT encourages the Government to continue treating this as a priority when it comes to tackling HIV around the world.
 
‘On this 100th International Women’s Day, we are reminded of the fact that HIV is the biggest killer of women globally. In the UK women have access to HIV treatment which is extremely effective and if an HIV positive woman becomes pregnant, she has a 99% chance of having a healthy, HIV-negative baby if the correct steps are taken. Sadly this is not the case in developing countries, where HIV presents a formidable obstacle to a full healthy life and healthy motherhood for millions of women across the world. 
 
‘Unfortunately, gender inequalities can also place women at heightened risk of HIV as often they are unable to negotiate the terms of sexual relations and condom use.   There are currently no widely accepted prevention methods that women can initiate and control and new tools such as preventative vaccines could offer women a powerful new way to protect themselves against HIV.'
 
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Notes to the editor:

For further information about vaccine research please visit the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).
www.iavi.org

For further information please contact: 
Charli Scouller
Communications Manager
NAT
020 7814 6733
press@nat.org.uk

NAT 
NAT (National AIDS Trust) is the UK’s leading charity dedicated to transforming society’s response to HIV. We provide fresh thinking, expert advice and practical resources. We campaign for change.
Shaping attitudes. Challenging injustice. Changing lives.
www.nat.org.uk