San Diego

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced a global strategy for fighting AIDS that will place more emphasis on international research and scientific training.

Coordinated by the NIH's Office of AIDS Research (OAR), officials say that the plan is expected to be the basis for greater US involvement in international collaborations.

The NIH spent about $90 million last year on international AIDS research, with that amount expected to increase to $100 million when Congress approves the delayed 2001 federal budget (see page 627).

Officials cannot yet discuss their funding plans for the initiative in 2002, but say that the growing concern in the United States about the international impact of AIDS should lead to “significant increases”.

“A strong, coordinated biomedical research effort is critical to address the global pandemic,” says Jack Whitescarver, OAR's acting director.

The strategic plan is expected to encourage training for international scientists to take part in NIH studies, research workshops, scholarships for international scientists, prevention strategies and new approaches to research funding.

NIH's Anthony Fauci backs international AIDS research.

The NIH developed the plan with a panel of outside academics, and released it on 1 December to mark World AIDS Day. “It is our sincere hope that the fruits of this research will help to alleviate the suffering caused by HIV and AIDS throughout the world,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Advocacy groups for AIDS research reacted cautiously to the announcement, noting that it is largely a repackaging of existing programmes. One said that he did not want to comment publicly on the plan, as the NIH was trying to heighten awareness of international issues and it was too early to tell whether the initiative would lead to substantial change.

Officials at another advocacy organization, the New York-based Treatment Action Group (TAG), said that the plan may plug gaps in research. For instance, says TAG's Mark Harrington, the United States now spends about $50 million a year on research related to US children with AIDS, but there are only a few such cases. Globally, he points out, paediatric AIDs is a huge problem, but the United States probably spends less than $5 million each year researching it.

In the early 1980s, the US government began international AIDS research projects in Haiti and Zaire. It then expanded AIDS research projects to 50 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Officials say that the new plan will help researchers to build new collaborations. The NIH will form a Global Strategy Group to track the plan's implementation.

→ http://nih.gov/od/oar