HIVAN coastal community HIV/AIDS Fora

The Verulam Child and Family Welfare Society was the venue for the launch of a new HIVAN HIV/AIDS Forum series for KZN?’s North Coast communities, held on the 11th March 2004.

HIVAN?’s Assistant Project Manager, Hemlata Morar welcomed the many individuals and organisations attending the meeting and explained that the aim of the Forum is to facilitate discussion between academics and communities. Jo-Ann du Plessis from HIVAN?’s sectoral networking team, gave a presentation on the Centre?’s mission and vision, highlighting its activities and research areas.

The guest speaker was Nobuhle Mkhize, a Community Liaison Officer at the Medical Research Council?’s SAAVI Vaccine Research Unit, who presented on current progress in the development of HIV vaccines. She explained the basic, pre-clinical and clinical research stages upon which the development programme is based, and then described the three-phased human trials that constitute the clinical research stage.

Nobuhle said that community participation is vital to the project, and that communities can participate in the following ways:

• By being a member of the CAB (Community Advisory Board)
• By being a trial participant
• Through community mobilisation


She stressed that the informed consent of a trial participant is essential for ethical reasons. The requirements for eligibility of trial participants are as follows:-


• 18-60 years
• HIV-negative
• Healthy
• 12 years of education
• Availability


Nobuhle?’s talk generated much discussion and the audience found her presentation very informative. During the ?“Way Forward?” session, members indicated that a forum of this nature was long overdue in the North Coast communities and that, ideally, these should be held at least once every two months.

A similar forum, also co-hosted by HIVAN and featuring Nobuhle Mkhize as the guest speaker, was held on the 9 March 2004 in Shallcross for the South Coast Communities.