by Lian Slayford-Wei

Created on: March 24, 2010

Community Preparedness for HIV Vaccine Trials in the Democratic Republic of Congo

HIV and AIDS is a common disease in Africa and different methods to combat them have been implemented throughout the years. An effective HIV vaccine is sought after all countries; in the Congo, the UNAIDS estimated that there were more than one million people living with AIDS/HIV. The main means of transference is through sexual contact between heterosexual adults.

There have been no ongoing clinical trials in the Congo to battle against the virus. Between October 2003 and March 2004, scholars undertook in-depth interviews and focus groups in capital, Kinshasa, under the auspices of the National AIDS Control Program (PNLS) to see what the community preparedness for HIV vaccine trials was like.

The interviewees were divided into two groups and underwent 27 interviews. “Group A consisted of fifteen HIV-1 seronegative persons at high-risk for HIV infection, characteristics which make them potential candidates for an HIV vaccine clinical trial. Seven were men, eight were women (all of the women identified themselves as sex workers). Group A was composed of participants with primary, secondary, or university level education who had access to AIDS information and counselling ... In Group B, we enrolled 12 persons who were leaders in the health, educational, religious, legal, security, or civic spheres, and were not required to have prior HIV test results. In total, 27 in-depth interviews with 12 men and 15 women were conducted, all of whom were at least 18 years old. Interview questioning was open-ended, with interviews averaging about 45 minutes in length”.

11 men and nine women were interviewed in two focus groups, each consisting of 10 people. Testing for HIV was not performed for this focus group but participants were HIV positive. One focus group approached the topic of a VIV vaccine; the other group talked about sexual behaviour and personal AIDS narratives.

These three groups were all told that “a hypothetical HIV vaccine would first be introduced as clinical trials of safety and efficacy”. The interviews were all conducted in either French or the local language, Lingala. Oral consent was used, each contract being read aloud, as participants were mostly illiterate and were given $5 each for the two interview group and $2 for the focus groups each as travel compensation.

Results:

Group A had knowledge of several HIV vaccines and how a vaccine prevents a

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