Drawing inspiration from Kenya on World AIDS Vaccine Day

May 18th, 2011 11:36 AM UTC
By ONE Partners

Philip Bergin, a research scientist at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, talks about how we can make a world without AIDS a reality.

Five years ago, I dedicated my professional life to advancing the research and development of an AIDS vaccine when I began working at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative’s (IAVI) Human Immunology Laboratory in London. No virus has ever posed a greater scientific challenge to mankind than HIV, and we must solve the puzzle because an effective AIDS vaccine remains our best hope to end this devastating pandemic that has claimed and affected millions of lives.

My work in London is both challenging and exciting, but it was not until a visit to Kilifi, Kenya, in 2009 -– where I watched as a mother held onto the hand of her child knowing that nothing could be done to save her life -– that I truly saw the face of the pandemic.

HIV affects people worldwide, regardless of race, sex, age or sexual preference; more than 33 million people are currently living with the virus.

Today, on World AIDS Vaccine Day, I am reminded of fourteen years ago when US President Bill Clinton stated, “Only a truly effective, preventive HIV vaccine can limit and eventually eliminate the threat of AIDS.” That statement remains as true today as it was then. For more than two decades, some of the world’s best scientists have worked toward a vaccine, but it has only been recently that these efforts have begun to offer an answer.

An efficacy vaccine trial in Thailand in 2009, a joint effort between the Thai and US governments, provided the first demonstration in humans that a vaccine can prevent HIV infection. We are also making major strides on several fronts considered crucial for designing a safe and effective HIV vaccine, including identifying new antibodies that neutralize a broad range of HIV variants, as well as exciting progress on identifying vectors, or delivery vehicles for vaccines, that are safe and long-lasting.

Another advance we are working on brings me back to Kenya. For the last two years, I have worked with the Kenya AIDS Vaccine Initiative (KAVI), based at the University of Nairobi, to help set up new methods for testing whether a vaccine induces anti-HIV responses at the specific mucosal surfaces where the virus is contracted. This work involves a high level of scientific expertise and sensitivity to the community -– both of which my Kenyan colleagues at KAVI have accomplished with seeming ease.

The innovation, drive and professionalism of the staff at KAVI and the volunteers they work with has been inspirational to me, and gives me more confidence than ever that all of us together –- scientists, volunteers, advocates, community leaders and policymakers -– can make a world without AIDS a reality.

Philip Bergin is a research scientist at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), a global not-for-profit, public-private partnership. IAVI’s mission is to ensure the development of safe, effective, accessible, preventive HIV vaccines for use throughout the world.

TAGS: From Our Partners, HIV/AIDS, Kenya, ONE, vaccines