HIV vaccines: 'Slow but steady' progress
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There is now a concerted international alliance between governments,
drug companies and activists to develop an Aids vaccine and there are
grounds for optimism, say experts.
Addressing a vaccine conference held in London last month, Dame Ruth Runciman,
chair of the National Aids Trust, said that investment into vaccines has
been low and progress has been slow. "We are acutely aware of the
need for community involvement into vaccine initiatives," she said.
Hilary Benn, Parliamentary Secretary of State for International Development,
said that the UK government
Dame
Ruth Runciman - 'Communities
must be involved'
had already pledged $200 million to the Global Aids Fund, and had spent
over £1 billion since 1997 on improving healthcare systems in developing
countries.
Dr Seth Berkley, founder and president of the International Aids Vaccine
Initiative, said that although there were numerous candidate vaccines
in trials around the world,none has yet been fully tested on humans. Development
of a vaccine could still
take anything between three and even 30 years, he said.
Martin
Flynn
