Pretoria - The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is planning to create a forum to strengthen HIV research, not only in South Africa, but throughout the African continent.
This announcement was made by the Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, at a meeting convened by the Department of Science and Technology, the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) in Cape Town on Tuesday.
The meeting focused on how various research plans contributed to South Africa's long-term 20-year Vision 2030 (2010 – 2030) and its ambitious target of "Zero new HIV infections, Zero new infections due to vertical transmission of HIV, Zero preventable deaths associated with HIV, and Zero discrimination associated with HIV".
Minister Pandor said these targets posed significant opportunities and challenges for researchers and other professionals.
"We require responses from the social sciences and also from those who work with popular culture, including social media," the Minister said.
She said the meeting did not focus on HIV research alone, but TB.
The Minister said there was a need to develop a set of programme responses that set an agenda derived from experience and lessons learnt from at least two decades of research.
"We are at a point where we need to act on important lessons from what's happened in the HIV prevention field in the past – both the successes and the failures.
“We are also at a point where we must start to recognise the scientific challenges of HIV research for what they are, and draw up a strategic plan for the future. The need to develop a robust research agenda on everything from curative therapies to vaccines and other new prevention tools has never been greater," Minister Pandor said.
The meeting is attended by, among many luminaries, the CEO of the Human Sciences Research Council, Dr Olive Shisana, the CEO of SANAC, Dr Fareed Abdullah, the CEO of the MRC, Professor Glenda Gray, academics and researchers. – SANews.gov.za
