Kagame visits Merck research laboratories

Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Thursday visited Merck research laboratories in Pennsylvania, USA, and commended the company for its work in developing a number of HIV/AIDS vaccines, presidential spokesman Nicholas Shalita announced Friday. Kagame said Merck should consider Rwanda among its partners in the effort to fight AIDS, and emphasised that a wholistic approach involving prevention through public awareness, education and mass-mobilisation on the one hand, and a vaccine on the other, is required. Executive Vice-President of Merck and head of the team of scientists working on an AIDS vaccine, Dr. Peter Kim, said that while it would be sometime before an AIDS vaccine is developed, Merck is committed to making the vaccine available to everyone who would benefit from it, once it has been developed. Kim said that Merck’s efforts are currently focused on developing an AIDS vaccine that is safe, well-tolerated by humans and practical to administer, noting the vaccine should be effective against the many strains of HIV/AIDS and provide protection for a long period of time. Kim said that researchers also need to look into mechanisms for widespread immunisation once the vaccine is developed. Also present during the visit were Rwandan Minister of Health Ezechias Rwabuhihi, Rwandan Ambassador to the US Dr. Richard Sezibera and the Rwandan Director-General for AIDS and Social Affairs Chantal Kabagabo. On Thursday evening, Kagame held meetings with senior representatives from the National Institutes of Health, the Centres for Disease Control, World Health Organisation and UNAIDS.