Because you can’t distribute an HIV vaccine in a vacuum, GAIA is building the infrastructure that will be needed to deliver our HIV vaccine. This includes instruction on how to administer a vaccine, provision of safe delivery devices and supporting a network of distribution points. Continue reading
Board member Sophie Sprecht-Walsh plays construction manager on her recent trip to Bamako.
Check out our latest pictures on Hope Center Clinic Continue reading
Providing patients with easy access to HIV care:
In 2009 the GAIA Vaccine Foundation accomplished something extraordinary – we received permission from the Malian national AIDS agencies (the HCNLS – Haut Conseil National pour la Lutte contre le Sida, CSLS – Cellule Sectorielle de la Lutte contre le Sida and the DRS – Direction Régionale de la Santé) to establish the first HIV care TB/HIV outreach program in the village clinic which was built in Sikoro in 2008. We are now able to treat HIV+ patients on site rather than having to refer them to the hospital for ARV medication. The Hope Center Clinic is the first village-level HIV clinic to offer free HIV care in Mali, and has become a model for the “decentralization” of HIV care for the rest of West Africa. With our program now in place, we are on track to serve 600 patients, almost five times as many patients in need over last year! Because of our work, West African doctors and policy makers have been inspired to expand their efforts to offer more HIV treatment at the village level. Such local treatment has proven to be one of the best means of preventing AIDS transmission now, while we wait for the vaccine to be developed. Continue reading
HPV Studies: A way to lay the groundwork for clinical studies in Mali
The GAIA Vaccine Foundation is currently carrying out a knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) study in conjunction with a willingness to participate (WTP) evaluation to establish the prevalence of cervical dysplasia, to and perform HPV sub-typing studies in Bamako and in Sikoro-Mekin, where our Hope Center clinic was built.
This study is supported in part by a research grant from the Investigator-Initiated Studies Program of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. It represents a substantive work that will allow GAIA VF to collect information and data necessary for introducing the Gardasil vaccine in Mali. We hope that validating the types of HPV associated with cervical cancer will allow us to prepare a proposal for a clinical study in preparation for an HPV vaccine trial. We plan to develop necessary protocols, put an infrastructure in place, and train medical personnel. This step is necessary not only for this study, but also for preparing for a vaccine trial (if possible). The goal is to lay the groundwork for all clinical studies to come, and to improve the conditions of vaccine research in Mali.
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The mission of GAIA Vaccine Foundation is Global Vaccine, Global Access. It is the goal of GAIA to distribute the HIV vaccine developed as a result of this project at no profit in developing countries. Initial studies of the GAIA HIV/AIDS vaccine are being carried out by Dr. Annie De Groot and Bill Martin at EpiVax, a Rhode Island based bioinformatics company, in collaboration with Dr. Ken Mayer at the Miriam Hospital and Dr. Ousmane Koita of the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Bamako. These three entities, working in collaboration, and depending on funding, project that they will deliver a vaccine ready for a Phase I clinical trials within four years.
The Global Alliance to Immunize against AIDS (GAIA) is working hard to stop HIV on a global scale.
GAIA’s mission is to promote the development of a globally relevant and globally accessible vaccine against AIDS. However, since the development of such a vaccine is years away, GAIA also coordinates HIV education, prevention and access to care programs in Providence and Bamako, working to stop HIV until a vaccine is developed.
In keeping with these objectives, GAIA has developed innovative programs to disseminate HIV prevention information such as the Here Bolo peer education program, presented at the World AIDS Conference in Mexico, July 2008, and “Chez Rosalie”, a mother to child HIV transmission prevention program based at the Hope Center Clinic in Bamako.
GAIA Vaccine Foundation opens “First Ever” Clinic Village-based HIV care in Mali.
HIV Care for the poorest of the poor
February 2, 2009. HIV Care at the village level. GAIA Vaccine Foundation has received permission from the Malian national AIDS agencies to establish the firt HIV care TB/HIV outreach program in a village clinic, located in Sikoro Mali. The new “Project Hope” HIV care center will open its doors on February 2, 2009.
Treatment for HIV and TB in peri-urban Mali, West Africa is constrained by extreme poverty and limited access to health care. Even though treatment for TB and antiretrovirals is free or low cost, few individuals are aware of the importance of treatment and even fewer have access to the centers where these lifesaving medications are distributed. Currently, only 18,000 of the estimated 180,000 Malians living with HIV infection have access to HIV care. Continue reading
Previous research has determined that door-to-door HIV education programs are an effective means of teaching about HIV, reducing stigma, and increasing the number of people seeking HIV testing and treatment in sub Saharan Africa. Where the population is illiterate, physical mnemonics can improve learning. GAIA Vaccine Foundation therefore developed the Hêré Bolo HIV Peer education program that uses a physical mnemonic based on the five fingers of the hand: Hope (thumb; Identity (index finger); Transmission (middle finger); Fidelity and Family (ring finger); and Community (fifth finger completing whole hand) to teach illiterate residents of a peri-urban slum in Mali about HIV disease, treatment and prevention. Continue reading
Establishment of GAIA Mission 2002 and “Rendez vous des Specialistes VIH/SIDA”
GAIA Vaccine Foundation has been working in Mali since 2002, when Dr. Annie De Groot first established collaborations with Malian HIV researchers. She soon recognized the lack of coordinated networking between HIV/AIDS NGOs, GOs and HIV care providers and misinformation about HIV/AIDS treatment among practitioners that might impair the ethical conduct of HIV vaccine trials in Mali. GAIA VF’s mission arose from the need to coordinate these HIV/AIDS endeavors. Therefore, GAIA VF developed plans for an annual HIV/AIDS conference and to set up clinical centers in the city where good HIV care would be modeled. Continue reading