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"Policy making is not just about making a decision at a certain point in time, but needs to be understood from the context of ongoing interactions and conflicts among institutions, interests and ideas. As a result, politics, ideology and ignorance have greater influence on HIV policy than do evidence and best practice. Thus analysis which identifies the obstacles and opportunities to evidence informed policy should constitute a core feature of every national HIV response." (Dickson and Buse 2008)

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Dr Mohammed Suhail is a medical doctor with a MBBS from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, India and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Wolverhampton, UK. He has worked with the WHO in India on the National Polio Surveillance Project and currently working for the Ministry of Higher Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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