Hundreds of millions needed for HIV vaccine

Some US $233 million is needed to accelerate Africa's quest for an HIV vaccine, a forum in Cameroon on the African AIDS Vaccine Programme heard this week. At least 200 AIDS experts were in the capital, Yaounde, to review the status of HIV vaccine research and the challenges to the continent's active participation in this research. "A major scientific challenge for developing a safe and effective vaccine that will protect the African population is the extensive variety of HIV sub-types existing in Africa, including in Cameroon," said Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, the director for the World Health Organisation's Initiative for Vaccine Research. Five African countries are currently conducting phase I and phase II clinical trials of candidate HIV vaccines, and one large-scale phase III trial involving 16,000 volunteers is underway in Thailand.