Despite the Italian researchers HIV / AIDS gain a level above berth in the field, the government has no plans to continue the National Programme AIDS research, which in its heyday in the 190s, received € 25 million per year. The program, long part of the Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS), the equivalent of the US National Institutes of Health in 09 was transferred to the Ministry of Health and given less than € 10 million which will be available until this year. The money will be executed in 2012, and there was no new call for funding. "There is no plan to boost the AIDS research program," complains Stefano Vella, who heads the research group on HIV, hepatitis and global health to the ISS in Rome. "The time here are tough "
immunologist Guido Poli of the scientific Institute San Raffaele in Milan noted that this" very quiet funeral for public funding of research on HIV / AIDS "comes at a most damaging moment.: Rome will host the International AIDS Conference July 20 17- sponsored by the International AIDS Society. "What I find unacceptable silence and resignation that is noticeable within the research community," said Poli. He further complained that Italy is the only G8 country that has not recently contributed to the Fund global fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Vella, representing Italy at the European Commission Directorate General for research in Brussels, says the country is inefficient with collaborations based in Europe. "the total absence of strategic and it suicidal for the country is the main cause of poor performance at the European level, "says Vella.
ISS President Enrico Garaci said the Ministry of Health "is determined to continue to support the effort" and that "the possibility to fund AIDS research through a dedicated project remains on the table actively pursues the coming years (from 2013 and beyond). "He also notes that researchers of HIV / AIDS can also be financed through other avenues in Italy and the European community . "In conclusion, the availability of a dedicated project on AIDS must be justified, but it should be felt not as replacement of a broader competition with other Italian and European scientists active in different fields," written in Garaci an e-mail.
Poli replies that "option" has been on the table for several months, and notes that HIV grants / AIDS often suffer when they compete for the general fund because of the perception that they will receive support through the National AIDS Programme. He noted that the Ministry of Health in 09 has provided HIV / AIDS projects that € 2 million on a pot of € 100 million, and one of these projects was for basic research. "research on HIV / AIDS in disadvantaged effect in the absence of a dedicated fundraiser," concludes Poli.
* This article was corrected on June 30 to reflect that the National AIDS Research Programme transferred to the Ministry of Health in 09 and given less than € 10 million, not less than 2 million €, which become available until this year.
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