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"We want to call on everyone here and around the world to help speed up what we hope will be the next big breakthrough in the fight against Aids," Bill Gates told conference delegates. "This could mark a turning point in the epidemic, and we have to make it an urgent priority."

The development of a pill or microbicide that can halt the transmission of HIV - the virus that causes Aids - is urgent for a number of reasons, the Washington Post reported.

First, there's no indication that an Aids vaccine will be developed soon and, second, Aids treatments will become a serious drain on the world's resources if the rate of HIV infection is not reduced. A third factor is that a pill or microbicide that prevents HIV infection can be controlled by women and used without the knowledge or permission of men.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has provided more than $110 million in recent years for research on vaginal microbicides to prevent HIV infection during intercourse. The foundation has said it plans to increase such funding, the Post reported.

August 2006
 

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