Below is a statement from Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise executive director, Dr. Alan Bernstein.  The Enterprise (http://www.hivvaccineenterprise.org) is a global alliance of researchers, funders, policy makers and advocates that includes the African AIDS Vaccine Program, the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC), the AIDS Vaccine Asian Network, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative, the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology, the Chinese AIDS Vaccine Initiative, the Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery (CAVD), the Department for International Development, the European Commission, Europrise, Eurovacc, GlaxoSmithKline, the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), Merck & Co. Inc., the National Agency for AIDS Research (ANRS), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Novartis Vaccines, sanofi pasteur, the South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI), the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP), UNAIDS, USAID, Vaccine Research Center (VRC), Wellcome Trust and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Dr. Bernstein is available to speak with journalists to help put the Thai trial results into perspective and to comment on their significance for the future of HIV vaccine research.  To interview Dr. Bernstein, please contact Mark Aurigemma at (212) 600-1960, (646) 270-9451 or mark@aucomm.net; or Jennifer Brunet at (212) 46i-3693 or jbrunet@vaccineenterprise.org.

“This is a historic day in the 26-year quest to develop an AIDS vaccine.  The results of the Thai Phase III HIV vaccine clinical trial of the “prime-boost” combination of ALVAC-HIV vaccine and AIDSVAC B/E vaccine demonstrate that a safe and effective AIDS vaccine is an achievable goal. This trial is the first demonstration in humans that, with more research, it will be possible to develop a vaccine that is fully protective against HIV.

These results represent the most significant advance in HIV vaccine research to date, and a ray of hope for the more than 2.7 million women, men and children who become newly infected with HIV every year across the globe.  Current prevention efforts can lower HIV risk, but a safe and effective vaccine will be essential to ending this epidemic.

We owe an enormous debt of thanks to the people of Thailand, and especially to the more than 16,000 women and men who selflessly participated in this clinical trial. This significant scientific milestone – the first vaccine study to reduce HIV infections in humans – would not have been reached without their engagement and the efforts of the trial sponsors – Enterprise stakeholders including the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP), the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and sanofi pasteur – as well as the Thailand Ministry of Public Health and Global Solutions for Infectious Diseases (GSID).

The reduction in HIV infection risk measured in this study, 31.2 percent, was modest, but raises important implications for future research directions. HIV vaccine researchers, funders and advocates must now continue to work together, as quickly and effectively as possible, to understand why this vaccine regimen worked as it did, how its efficacy can be improved, whether and how it may work in other parts of the world, and how to develop new vaccine candidates that expand on the level of protection achieved here.

This study also demonstrates the importance of global cooperation and collaboration – the central values of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise – in accelerating the search for a safe and effective HIV vaccine.  Researchers, advocates, funders and policy makers are working together through the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise process to develop and test new vaccine candidates. Full data from the Thai trial will be presented at the Enterprise’s annual scientific conference, AIDS Vaccine 2009, in Paris on October 19-22. http://www.hivvaccineenterprise.org/conference/2009/

Finally, these results are an immediate call to action to governments, funders, policy makers, researchers and advocates to dramatically step up our efforts to develop and make globally available a safe and effective HIV vaccine. Stakeholders of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise will continue to lead this fight, but developing a safe and effective AIDS vaccine will require the full and collective efforts of every individual and organization worldwide committed to ending this devastating epidemic.

Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise partners will be working aggressively in the months ahead to address the many scientific questions raised by this study, and to develop and test other vaccine candidates.  The findings of this trial will also help inform strategies outlined in the updated Enterprise Scientific Strategic Plan, the global strategy for HIV vaccine research currently being developed by over 150 scientists from around the world, to be released in spring 2010.

We look forward to hosting the ongoing discussion of results of this trial and the discussion of next steps in the journey to find an AIDS vaccine at the AIDS Vaccine 2009 conference in Paris, October 19-22.

According to an unaccredited news story on the Buganda Government official website, Buganda’s Central Civic Education Committee has resumed its campaign against the campaign anti-Buganda policies and laws by the NRM government. Its scope has, reportedly, been redefined to put more emphasis on the Federo system of governance.

The committee, which was personally appointed by Ssabasajja Kabaka Muwenda Mutebi, is credited for awakening Baganda to the reality that Mr. Museveni and his NRM are committed to destroy Buganda through unjust and discriminative laws such as the Land Act. It is chaired by the indefatigable and exceptionally popular Betty Nambooze.

Frustrated by the effectiveness of Kabaka’s Central Civic Education Committee, president Museveni ordered the kidnap and torture of Betty Nambooze and two other Buganda officials, Peter Mayiga and Medard Lubega Ssegona in August 2008 (see “Museveni Quietly Retreats On Fake Nambooze and Lubega Case“). After several days of police torture and depravation, Mr. Museveni ordered the release of all three Baganda under pressure from human rights groups, United States and other foreign aid donors and a defiant Baganda population.

The article on the official Buganda Government website is reproduced below.

CENTRAL CIVIC EDUCATION COMMITTEE RESUMES DUTIES

By Our Reporter

Buganda’s Central Civic Education Committee has resumed its duties and this time it will put much more emphasis on the essence of a federo system of governance to every one across Buganda and Uganda in relation to Ssaabasajja Kabaka’s call for truth and justice.

The committee started with a one day sensitization workshop for all its members in which it was agreed that the theme “truth and justice” is quite extensive and require absolute attention.

Committee members further agreed that with truth and justice in place, the Kingdom will live in harmony since most of the injustices will be dealt away with.

The workshop was opened by an official for community mobilization in the office of the 1st deputy Katikkiro, Ssewava Sserubiri who also emphasized that where there is justice, there is likely to be no encroachment on other people’s land and no oppression from anyone which will lead to fundamental development in the Kingdom.

The Member of Parliament for Kampala Central, Erias Lukwago who is also a committee member advised that Buganda should come out and put to task all the members of parliament from this region to show their stand on the issue of federo. Lukwago argued that this will help the Kingdom to determine the support for federo in the Ugandan parliament and be able to vote wisely in the forth coming elections.

The chairperson of the committee, Betty Nambooze Bakireke announced a new system of mobilization whereby telephone contacts of everyone in Buganda will be obtained and various messages on various issues will be sent to every one in Buganda for development purposes.

The workshop was closed by the minister of state for research in Buganda Kingdom, David Mpanga who said that the recess period has been so useful because members have been able to identify their weaknesses which have been ironed out and are ready to face their prey with no major obstacles.