THE next in series of AIDS Vaccine Think Tank, entitled "HIV Vaccines for Developing Countries: Prospects for an HIV Vaccine for West Africa" begins in Abuja today at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers under the aegis of the Harvard AIDS Institute cosponsored by the AIDS Prevention Initiative in Nigeria (APIN) in Abuja, Nigeria and Fogarty International Center of the United States National Institute of Health.

The Harvard AIDS Institute's "vaccine think tanks" is an ongoing series of conferences that address the challenge of creating an HIV vaccine for worldwide use. This think tank will afford us an opportunity to examine key HIV/AIDS issues affecting West Africa and to consider specific regional questions concerning the development of a sub-type specific vaccine.

Amongst those expected at the event is CEO of the National Vaccine Production Laboratory in Lagos, Prof. Lateef Salako.

Others include Prof. Max Essex, Chairman, Harvard AIDS Institute and co-discoverer of HIV 2; Dr. Robert Gallo, renowned researcher and co-discoverer of the HIV; and Prof. Seth Berkley, President of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative are researchers in infectious disease pathogenesis, epidemiology, and vaccine development, as well as HIV experts, virologists, immunologists, behavioral scientists, biostaticians, and representatives of international organizations who are key players in the definition, funding, and implementation of such interventions.