Abstract:

The Cambodian government has opposed plans by an international team of researchers to assess the role of an oral antiretroviral drug, tenofovir, in HIV prevention among HIV uninfected sex workers in Cambodia because of concerns over possible harm. On August 13, researchers from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF; USA), the University of New South Wales (UNSW; Australia), and the Cambodian National Center for HIV, AIDS, Dermatology, and STDs (NCHADS) halted preparations for the double-blind, placebo-controlled trial after “a verbal directive” from the Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, that the trial violated human rights. The trial is on hold, pending further communication from Sen’s government, according to the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is funding the study. “It is ultimately the decision of the Cambodian team members and their government whether or not the trial goes forward and we will respect their decision”, Mary Fanning of NIAID