Considerable progress on vaccines have ben made
A safe, effective, globally-accessible vaccine remains the best tool to drastically control the spread of HIV, now toppling 12,000 new infections daily.
Since the first World AIDS Vaccine Day a decade ago, we have made considerable progress. More than 30 AIDS vaccine trials are ongoing in two dozen countries, with preliminary data on two advanced candidates expected over the coming years.
Moreover, we’ve succeeded in building a global coalition to support AIDS vaccines and other prevention efforts. The G8, the UN, and in Europe, the EU and governments of several European countries, are strong supporters.
Successful partnerships have been built
The international community also has successfully built capacity to test aids vaccine candidates in areas of the world most affected by the epidemic - over the past years, we have seen new trials in Zambia, Rwanda, South Africa, India, Uganda and Tanzania.
And there are more partnerships today between researchers in developed and developing countries to stimulate much needed innovation in the field of vaccine design, as is evident from the recent agreement between India’s Department of Biotechnology and a research consortium from the International AIDS Vacccine Initiative, which is aimed at developing the next generation AIDS vaccines.
But...
But these innovative forms of scientific partnerships and collaboration with researchers in developing countries requires increased and sustained financial investment.
The challenges involved in developing an AIDS vaccine are significant and transcend national boundaries. Unlike many diseases for which there are licensed vaccines, there is no natural immunity and no perfect model to study HIV infection.
HIV requires a large-scale, global vaccine design effort to tackle the unresolved fundamental scientific questions and develop candidates that can rapidly advance to the clinic for trials and, ultimately, licensure and distribution.
During the last six years, European funders increased their commitment to preventive HIV R&D three fold, but still Europe lags behind its American counterparts, and provides only 10% of the public sector share of vaccine R&D for AIDS. The private sector - where most of the product development and manufacturing expertise lies - contributes only 10% of total AIDS vaccine investment. We simply must change this equation.
The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative calls for additional financial and technical assistance
This year, on World AIDS Vaccine Day 2007, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative called on the EU and European governments to provide additional financial and technical assistance to strengthen developing countries’ scientific infrastructure and human capacity, and to encourage political leaders and scientists from Europe to foster partnerships with leaders in the South.
One such leader is Dr. Pontiano Kaleebu, a leading AIDS vaccine researcher from the Uganda Virus Research Institute. On the shores of Lake Victoria forty-five kilometers outside Kampala, he is analyzing HIV-infected cells through a microscope.
His work is a long dance with a formidable foe. On good days, he sees small steps forward. On bad ones, the virus reveals one more way to keep scientific discovery at bay. Dr. Kaleebu has a vision of a world without AIDS. Some days he thinks he might see it in his lifetime. Certainly he can imagine it for his children, and most days, that is enough to keep him going. (From the book "28: Stories of AIDS in Africa" by Stephanie Nolen. Published by Walker & Company in the United States in June, 2007. ISBN 978-0-676-97822-3)
