Africa delegates at AIDS Vaccine Conference saddened by Africa’s poor representation
African representatives at the AIDS Vaccine Conference are questioning the continent’s commitment to the search for HIV vaccine.
Participants at the conference in Bongkok, Thailand, say Africa has the capacity to contribute to global war against the epidemic, but the story has been different.
Sub-Sahara Africa accounts for 70 per cent of the world’s new infections, coming behind South and South-East Asia.
Out of 779 delegates attending the conference, 110 are from Africa, 26 of them on sponsorship.
Only 35 out of the 352 abstract presentations and three of 21 posters at the conference were independently submitted by African researchers.
South Africa leads the pack in HIV Vaccine research, having presented 20 abstracts, followed by Uganda with six, compared to 157 by the United States.
A Zambia research fellow at Harvard Medical School in the U.S., Zaza Ndlovu, is appalled by Africa’s low representation.
He wants to see Africans who carry the greatest burden of HIV to be at the frontline in research.
Mr. Ndlovu and other delegates from Rwanda, Mali and Kenya warn the continent’s poor performance in vaccine research and development could have dire consequences.
Though not surprised at the turn of events, he wants to see change in attitude and approach.
“The virus that circulates in Africa is different from the virus that circulates in Europe and America .And when a vaccine is being developed; they are going to develop a vaccine that would be best served the West, because that is their money. That vaccine may not work in Ghana’’. He explained.
Mr. Nlovu says “the time for change is now”, adding, “that is why we need to get involved; we need to contribute both in monetary terms and infrastructure as well so that we develop products that would be effective in our region”.
Director at the Uganda Virus Research Institute, Pontiano Kaleebu, says Africa’s contribution has mainly been vaccine trials, contributing over 30 per cent.
About five years ago, African governments promised to allocate one per cent of their annual gross domestic product into HIV vaccine research. However, only Malawi, South Africa and Uganda honoured that promise in 2009.
Professor Pontiano says funding and perception that HIV vaccine is far away from researchers are key challenges to address.
He says Africa must be proactive in the initiative because it stands to benefit.
“We [researchers] don’t think we are getting enough contribution from African governments. Treatment is mostly international partners. When it comes to HIV Vaccine research, again its mostly now international collaborations”.
Professor Pontiano revealed there are ongoing discussions on how best to involve Africa in AIDS Vaccine research.
“What we’ve been discussing is how much we can get African governments and other regional bodies such as Africa Union, African banks all that to get involved. We need to be part in finding a solution to the epidemic”.
The AIDS Vaccine Conference is the largest scientific venue that brings together the world’s top scientists, policy makers, community advocates and funders who focus exclusively on AIDS vaccine research.
The conference is being hosted by the AIDS Vaccine Enterprise and the Mahidol University in Thailand.
Story by: Ohemeng Tawiah,Nhyira Fm-BANGKOK, THAILAND
