GATES FOUNDATION TO FUND VACCINE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced 16 grants totaling $287 million to create an international network of highly collaborative research consortia focused on accelerating the pace of HIV vaccine development.

In total, the 16 grants support more than 165 investigators in 19 countries, including Cameroon, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Australia, the U.S. and several European countries.

To date, most HIV vaccine research has been conducted by small teams of investigators working independently. While important research gains have been made, there is growing recognition that these efforts need to be supported by new large-scale, collaborative projects that can produce definitive answers to complex scientific questions.