HIV Vaccine Trials To start in July

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Dr. Hannah Kibuuka believes it is possible to get a vaccine against HIV/AIDS in the near future

MAKERERE University Walter Reed Project (MUWRP) is to carry out trials for an HIV vaccine in July.

The project executive director, Dr. Hannah Kibuuka, told journalists during a media dialogue at their offices in Kampala that the trials would involve 120 participants.  “These trials are commonly done in Uganda, Thailand and the US. We hope to involve 120 participants,” she said, adding that the age of those who will participate will be between 18 and 50 years. Uganda has conducted HIV vaccine trials since 1999.  The first trial was conducted at the Joint Clinical Research Centre and since then, a number of trials have been conducted by the Makerere University Walter Reed Project and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative in Entebbe. Kibuuka said Uganda has not yet conducted a vaccine trial to determine whether the candidate vaccines can prevent HIV infection.  She, however, said such trials had been conducted in Thailand.  Read more »

Uganda Joins HIV Vaccine Trial tests

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MUWRP to conduct a joint HIV Vaccine Trial. Above are Ms Monica Millard,and Dr. Hannah Kibuuka, MUWRP Country Director & Executive Director respectively

Uganda has partnered with the United States, Kenya and Tanzania to take part in a joint HIV/Aids vaccine trial.

The DNA vaccine trial, to be conducted by Makerere University Walter Reed Project, is in the first phase and will attract 42 participants from Uganda, 20 from Kenya and Tanzania and 12 from the United States. The trials will be hosted in the respective countries. Speaking during a meeting on HIV vaccines in Kampala yesterday, the executive director of Makerere University Walter Reed Project, Dr Hannah Kibuuka, said a different HIV vaccine trial was also expected to start soon, although she did not give details. “Right now we have HIV vaccine research on the agenda because we still have so many people getting infected. But if we get an HIV vaccine, it would be a great addition to the interventions that have been developed over the years to fight HIV,” Dr Kibuuka said.  Read more »

World Health Day Guest Lecture by Ambassador Scott DeLisi

World Health Day Guest Lecture by Ambassador Scott DeLisi

World Health Day guest lecture by Ambassador Scott DeLisi at the Davies Lecture Hall theater, kampala, Uganda

Scott H. DeLisi  ”Good afternoon!  I am delighted to be here today with all of you as we mark World Health Day and the partnership between the U.S. Government and the People of Uganda. Together, we have done so much to create a healthier future for the citizens of this nation and we have even more to do to ensure that Uganda will have the healthy population it needs to take the country into a prosperous and productive future.

We have been partners in health for a very long time – USAID and the U.S. Peace Corps have been working in Uganda since its independence; the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has been collaborating with the Government of Uganda for over 20 years; the National Institutes of Health has been supporting collaborative research with Ugandan scientists since the 1960s and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, part of our Department of Defense, has been working in country since the late 1990s. Read more »

Large Multinational HIV Cohort Study Begins in Africa

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Study will inform HIV care and treatment services in the African context


February 27, 2013 (SILVER SPRING, Md.)—The U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP) has initiated a large, long-term cohort study at multiple African sites that will evaluate HIV prevention, care and treatment services it supports through local facilities, funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Named the African Cohort Study (AFRICOS), the study—the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa—is taking place at sites in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Study participants will be drawn from health facility clinic patient populations, allowing MHRP to monitor the impact of HIV-directed health and preventive services falling under national guidelines. “AFRICOS will help us capture the broader picture of the overall health of our HIV-infected patients,” said Maj. Julie Ake, M.D., the study’s lead investigator. Read more »