Indo-U.S. Vaccine Action Program Celebrates 25 Years

New Delhi | September 3, 2012

The Indo-US Vaccine Action Program, popularly known as VAP, has been implemented since July, 1987 and now celebrates its 25th anniversary.  The celebration includes a conference on September 3 that highlights VAP accomplishments and the release of a commemorative publication.  Through mutual agreement between the United States and India, the VAP is being extended in 2012 for an additional five years with a particular focus on tuberculosis, human immunology, rotavirus and many other globally important infectious diseases.  This includes development of vaccines for Malaria, Dengue and translational research in vaccinology.

The VAP aims to reduce the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases of public health significance in India, the United States and other parts of the world, and to promote vaccines as one of the most cost-effective health technologies.  VAP-supported research projects have directly addressed critical health problems relevant to both countries.  Examples include vaccine research targeting rotavirus (responsible for about 40 percent of diarrhea-related hospitalizations and 150,000 deaths in India each year) and dengue virus (a re-emerging viral infection recently recorded in both northern India and in the southeastern United States).

The program was designed to encompass laboratory-based research, clinical and population-based research, epidemiological studies, field trials, and research on vaccine quality control and delivery.  Under the VAP, U.S. and Indian scientists carry out collaborative studies directed toward development of vaccines and immunodiagnostic reagents, and address other issues that are important for vaccine research through consultations and workshops.

The program was initiated through signing of a joint Memorandum of Understanding in July, 1987.  The VAP is implemented by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and the Government of India’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT).  NIAID and DBT will also co-host the Indo-U.S. VAP Symposium on Human Immunology and Infectious Disease, September 4-5 in New Delhi.  Following the symposium, NIAID and DBT will support a small grant program through the NIAID-Human Immunology Project Consortium, entitled: “U.S.-India Bilateral Collaborative Research Grants on Human Immune Phenotyping and Infectious Disease.”