Comments
IAVI President and CEO Seth Berkley said, "This new partnership will broaden ongoing efforts in India to find an AIDS vaccine," adding, "Through this new agreement, we will continue to tap some of the best minds in biotechnology to create new paradigms for AIDS vaccine design." DBT Secretary Maharaj Bhan said, "India's Department of Biotechnology is delighted to be a part of the global search for an efficacious AIDS vaccine," adding, "Only through these kinds of biotechnology ventures, involving international collaborations and the sharing of scientific knowledge, can we hope to solve the complex biomedical problems of our times" (IAVI release, 5/2).

 

Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Information Service, UNAIDS Launch Program To Fight Epidemic in Region
[May 03, 2007]

      The Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service and UNAIDS recently launched an electronic HIV/AIDS discussion forum that aims to foster dialogue and promote HIV prevention in the region, the Herald/AllAfrica.com reports. The forum also aims to promote advocacy, partnerships and networking at both the national and sub-regional levels.

The forum, which will run for six months, will discuss several major themes -- including the main drivers of the epidemic, the role of men in HIV prevention, prevention among young people, the role of sexually transmitted infections in HIV prevention and the spread of the virus, and strategic condom programming. Papers on the topics written by experts also will be made available on the forum, and participants will able to critique them and contact the authors personally, the Herald/AllAfrica.com reports.

SAFAIDS Executive Director Lois Chingandu at the launch of the forum said, "While in the last few years we have witnessed an upsurge in political leadership and commitment, resources, and improved HIV programming in the area of care and treatment, the large numbers of new infections reported is a clear indication of failures and shortcomings of our prevention programs." According to the Herald/AllAfrica.com, Chingandu called on the public to actively participate on the forum (Herald/AllAfrica.com, 5/2).

Researchers Call on African Governments To Implement Polices, Strengthen Health Infrastructures To Improve Fight Against HIV/AIDS
[May 03, 2007]

      More than 500 experts attending the fourth African Conference on Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS in Kisumu, Kenya, on Tuesday called on African governments to strengthen their health infrastructures to bolster the fight against the disease, the East African Standard/AllAfrica.com reports. Attendees at the four-day conference said that poverty continues to hinder efforts aimed at curbing the spread of HIV. They also called on governments to implement HIV/AIDS policies and recommendations from various studies on how to address issues surrounding the disease.

Richard Muga of Kenya's National Coordinating Agency for Population and Development said health care systems in many African countries are too weak to effectively fight HIV/AIDS. He also said that "Africans' sexual orientation remains a major issue in the fight against AIDS," adding that governments also need to "ensure that health structures are strong." Mareme Kaire, president of the Rural Association Against HIV/AIDS in Senegal, said her country has included men who have sex with men in prevention and education programs. "The National HIV/AIDS Control Programme in Senegal has involved all groups, including homosexuals," Kaire said (Ayodo, East African Standard/AllAfrica.com, 5/1).