What is IAVI all about?

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Straight Answers

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2003 06:03:15 AM ]

Anjali Nayyar, Country director, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI),

On IAVI and its initiatives

What is IAVI all about?

IAVI is a global non-profit organisation working to accelerate research to

develop a preventive Aids vaccine. Founded in 1996, sponsors partnerships with

researchers in industrialised and developing countries to advance the study

promising Aids vaccine candidates. It also works to assure that an Aids vaccine,

once available, will be accessible to everyone without delay.

When was IAVI established in India ?

IAVI works in countries through Vaccine Development Partnerships with either

research institutions or governments. IAVI signed an MOU with the Department of

Health and the Indian Council of Medical Research in December2000. The official

announcement was made in March 2001 and the programme activities began in August

2001.

What is your role as the country director for IAVI?

Given India 's troubled history with clinical trials,my principle role has been

get support for the programme from all stakeholders and to establish transparent

and collaborative strategies with the consent of all concerned stakeholders.

IAVI's basis of all work in India has been not only looking at product

development but putting in place processes that have an overall beneficial

effect on communities.

What have been IAVI's biggest achievements?

IAVI's biggest global achievements have been to bring HIV/Aids vaccine

development back to centre-stage in a comprehensive HIV/Aids prevention

programme and to begin talking about access to an Aids vaccine as it begins the

vaccine development process. In India our biggest achievements have been to get

the support for the Aids vaccine development process right from the highest

political offices (the President and the Prime Minister) to the grassroots

community groups; and harness the formidable Indian scientific expertise to

work in collaboration with the international scientists.

What is IAVI's vision as far as Aids is concerned?

IAVI wants to bring an end to the Aids epidemic through the speedy development

and access to a safe and effective preventive Aids vaccine. This means a radical

change in the way the world approaches every aspect of deploying immunisation.

ANURADHA KHER

anuradha.kher@...