Download 2004 Vaccine Think Tank Report *Please note this report is a PDF. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it.

Initiation of Vaccine Trials in Africa was the theme of the 11th think tank symposium in the ongoing Vaccine Solutions for Developing Countries conference series hosted by HAI. To celebrate the first concurrent HIV vaccine trial in Africa and in the United States, the symposium was held in Gaborone, Botswana from April 29 to May 1, 2004.

Tonya Villafana, Site Director of the Vaccine Initiative of the Botswana-HAI Partnership for HIV Research and Education, served as symposium chair. Researchers in infectious disease pathogenesis, epidemiology, and vaccine development, virologists, immunologists, behavioral scientists, biostatisticians, and representatives of international organizations lent their expertise and insight into the challenges and considerations in conducting vaccine trials in Africa. Participants examined the issues surrounding clinical development, capacity building and infrastructure, safety, recruitment, immunogenicity, efficacy and ethics.

The symposium was sponsored by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, U.S. Military HIV Research Program and Henry M. Jackson Foundation, ExxonMobil Foundation, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, HAI, and Fogarty International Center of the United States National Institutes of Health. The 2004 Vaccine Think Tank Report was written by Simani Gaseitiewe, Tuduetso Maswabi, and Enoch Sepako.