About the Education Initiative

Finding a safe and effective vaccine to prevent the spread of HIV is our best hope for stopping the AIDS pandemic. With over 40 million people living with HIV worldwide, and over 20 million lives already lost, the need for an HIV vaccine is more urgent than ever. To end AIDS, the world needs prevention, care, treatment, and a vaccine.

But there is still a lot of public misunderstanding about HIV vaccine research, and the success of vaccine trials depends on the understanding, trust, support, and participation of all communities.

What is the goal of the Initiative?
The NIAID HIV Vaccine Research Education Initiative was formed to create an environment in which HIV affected communities and individuals are more aware, educated, and supportive of HIV vaccine research and have more positive attitudes towards clinical trial volunteerism.

Who are we trying to reach?
Since 2001, the NIAID has worked with community leaders, community-based and national organizations, health professionals, and educators to provide communities most affected by HIV with information on HIV vaccine research and ways that they can be the generation that ends AIDS.

Who is sponsoring the Initiative?
The Initiative is supported by the Division of AIDS (DAIDS) of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH is an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.