The G-8 group of industrialised nations have responded to a call by leading scientists from around the world for a coordinated approach to an HIV vaccine along the lines of the Human Genome project.
In June 2004, the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise was launched as a virtual consortium to enhance coordination, information sharing and global collaboration amongst the world’s HIV vaccine researchers in industrialized and developing countries in both private and public sectors.
The Enterprise will prioritize the scientific challenges that need to be addressed, coordinate product development efforts and encourage greater use of information sharing technologies. Existing resources will be better aligned and would be channeled more efficiently. Its work will also promote more effective synergies between research into new technologies and global efforts to scale up the preventive and therapeutic interventions for HIV/AIDS which already exist.
HIV/AIDS vaccine development has been slow over the past 20 years, due mainly to the enormous scientific, logistical and financial challenges involved. Multiple vaccine candidates have been tested in more than 70 human clinical trials with moderate success. So far, only one vaccine candidate has concluded the stage of definitive trials and it did not show any noticeable level of efficacy. This indicates a need to consolidate and intensify all international efforts to ensure further progress in this field.
The WHO and UNAIDS welcomed the Enterprise and will support by contributing to capacity building in developing countries in conducting clinical trials at the highest scientific and ethical levels, addressing issues such as future access to HIV vaccines as part of HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care programmes.
In September 2004 EU Health Ministers warned that Europe’s AIDS problem is worsening as the rate of new infections in some new member states are the highest in the World (see Related EPHA article "EU ministers address HIV/AIDS threat in Europe").
The proportion of newly reported HIV cases has also doubled in Western Europe since 1995.
