Zimbabwe Plans To Develop Guidelines on HIV Vaccine Research
Zimbabwe's Health and Child Welfare Deputy Minister Edwin Muguti on Wednesday at a workshop organized by the Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe said the country plans to develop guidelines for HIV vaccine research conducted in Zimbabwe, Xinhua News Agency reports. Muguti said that Zimbabwe has overlooked establishing research guidelines, adding that the guidelines are needed to ensure HIV vaccine research is conducted safely and ethically.
According to Muguti, the guidelines also are needed to ensure that HIV vaccines developed in the country are specific to the HIV subtypes found in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's existing national HIV policy document, which was drafted in 1999, does not mention procedures or guidelines for HIV vaccine trials, Xinhua News Agency reports. Muguti at the workshop also called for consultation with international bodies -- such as the World Health Organization's African AIDS Vaccine Programme, UNAIDS and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative -- in developing the guidelines. According to Muguti, once established, the guidelines should be reviewed periodically (Xinhua News Agency, 7/4).