In a symposium session on Monday at the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., politicians and public health experts joined Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Chair Bill Gates for a discussion about improving effectiveness and efficiency in the HIV/AIDS response, the Washington Post reports (Brown/Botelho, 7/23). "Gates ... reiterated the importance for nations and donors to support research, but also expressed support for ongoing treatment initiatives in the meantime," according to Agence France-Presse. "No one should think that we have got the tools yet. We will get the tools but only if we stay the course in terms of the scientific investments," Gates said, AFP notes (Sheridan, 7/23). The Washington Post adds that "[t]he main one lacking is a vaccine, but also important and missing are woman-controlled means to prevent infection, such as a vaginal microbicide" (7/23).