One of seven southern African nations with an adult HIV prevalence exceeding 15%, Zambia has much to gain from the successful development of an AIDS vaccine.
IAVI began working in the country in 2003, when it established a partnership with the Zambia-Emory HIV Research Project (ZEHRP). We have since collaborated with ZEHRP to conduct Zambia’s first vaccine trial. We also partner to do clinical research, HIV epidemiology and social science research, including studies of behavioral interventions for preventing HIV.
We partner with the following research center in Zambia:
IAVI began working with ZEHRP in 2003 a full decade after it was founded as part of the
Rwanda Zambia HIV Research Group (RZHRG). In 2006, IAVI and ZEHRP partnered with Targeted Genetics Corporation to run Zambia’s first AIDS vaccine clinical trial
Though headquartered in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, ZEHRP also runs research centers in Ndola and Kitwe, where counselors specialize in couples’ voluntary counseling and testing (CVCT). We work with the group to maintain large cohorts of sexually active, HIV-discordant couples—in which one is HIV positive, the other not—who are given regular behavioral counseling, as well as voluntary counseling and testing for HIV (VCT)
IAVI has, further, collaborated with ZHERP to conduct epidemiological studies and clinical research to prepare for future large-scale AIDS vaccine trials. In 2005, along with six other research centers in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, ZEHRP participated in a study to examine the medical criteria for including African volunteers in AIDS vaccine trials. Before this study, researchers frequently relied on laboratory reference ranges that, developed for Western populations, were not locally applicable
BUILDING TECHNICAL CAPACITY
To ensure the long-term viability of the clinical trial programs in which we participate, we stress the cultivation of technical capacity to conduct biomedical research in the countries where we operate. In May, 2004, IAVI sponsored the construction of a Clinical Research Center—including a state-of-the-art clinic, laboratories and data management facilities—at the ZEHRP campus in Lusaka.
But any program to conduct HIV research and run vaccine trials also relies on the availability of high-quality VCT services, strong health care referral networks and effective mechanisms for community feedback in the planning and execution of clinical trials.
- We support ZEHRP’s HIV research centers in Ndola and Kitwe. These centers provide CVCT, medical examinations, family planning services and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STI)
- We help finance the operations of three facilities in Lusaka—Twatotela, Chawama, and Kanyama—that provide CVCT services and STI screening to the general public
To assure that the conduct of clinical trials and the data they generate are both of the highest quality, IAVI has supported the training of researchers at ZHERP in Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP) and Good Clinical Practice (GCP).
SUPPORTING TRIALS
A vaccine development program can only be sustainable if it enjoys the active support of the communities from which volunteers are drawn for clinical trials.
IAVI has supported the establishment of Community Advisory Boards (CABs) at ZEHRP research centers, and helped to train their members. CABs advise researchers on the design of clinical trials, and keep communication open and clear between researchers and the community at large.
To ensure that people participating in clinical research are fully informed about the benefits and risks of volunteering, IAVI has helped ZEHRP develop information and educational materials on HIV, couples VCT and vaccine trials that are distributed in the community and to volunteers at the research center.
REACHING OUT
As it does in all other countries where it directly participates in clinical research, IAVI stresses in Zambia the systematic cultivation of public support for HIV prevention and AIDS vaccine research and development.
To improve public understanding of AIDS vaccines and the process of vaccine development, IAVI distributes its vaccine literacy curriculum, VaxLit, and two publications—VAX and the IAVI Report—to research sites, CABs and other organizations involved in HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment in Zambia.
SUSTAINING POLITICAL SUPPORT
High-level political support and sound policy are also essential to the sustainability of the AIDS vaccine effort. In 2007, the then Vice-President of Zambia pledged his support for IAVI-sponsored clinical trials and CVCT research in the country.
ADVOCACY
IAVI has helped to coordinate high-level support for vaccine research in Zambia through the Global Political Advocacy Initiative (GPAI). This effort capitalizes on the power of South-South and South-North relationships to advocate for public policies to accelerate the development and distribution of AIDS vaccines.