Erika Purcell-Williams

A Woman At the Center

Most health care professionals tend to operate from a specific point of view; they may aim to understand the source of a problem or they see the human body as a “source” of information. Dr. Quarraisha Abdool Karim happens to see things differently, and it is her inclusive holistic point of view that has made her an international leader in the discussion on Microbicides and HIV. We had an opportunity to sit with Dr. Abdool Karim and speak with her about the development, strengths, and weaknesses of recent Microbicide studies. Dr. Abdool Karim shared with us her perspective, on science and its limitations in developing new technologies to prevent HIV infection especially in women. Her experience in conducting trials and the ethical problems faced in conducting such studies gave us a seat on the front lines of research trials.

The innovation of the female population to find benefits in trials for themselves, the problematic of the IRB requirements in South Africa of how much should be paid to participants and the difficulty of attaining results for prevention with old tools were invaluable to us, as we have been working on HIV on a completely different level. All these insights have given the entire medical community pivotal information in the battle against HIV and AIDS.

When considering the levels of technology and medical knowledge present, our current progress in the battle against HIV and AIDS, is indeed questionable. However, Dr. Abdool Karim’s work and dedication to the development of Microbicides and  new anti retroviral therapies  and the eradication of this infection, specifically for women, has provided a necessary spark in the public health field, reigniting our passion and hope for finding a solution.

Erika Purcell-Williams – Co-assistant/Teammate Pedagogy of Action 2009