Where do we stand in the fight against HIV?

• Michèle Tertilt
• 19 Nov 2019

A recent topic of interest for Tertilt is the relationship between sexual behavior and HIV.
Unlike other HIV studies, Tertilt’s model didn’t assume that people’s behaviour will be indifferent to policy changes. “You have to take into account changes in behavior,” she says. “Here’s where economics comes in.”

With knowledge about HIV at high levels in Malawi and other Sub-Saharan African countries today, Tertilt finds that ART will be a key driver to further reduce HIV. “The introduction of antiretroviral drugs is at pretty high levels now,” she says. “Fifty percent of the infected are treated. What we can show is that as soon as enough people are treated, ART becomes a very useful policy to reduce HIV.”