An article in this week's PLoS Medicine describes the African AIDS Vaccine Programme (AAVP), which was established in 2000. The AAVP is a network of African HIV vaccine stakeholders, led by Africans across the continent, with a vision of "an AIDS-free Africa through an effective vaccine."

Pontiano Kaleebu (Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda) and colleagues describe what AAVP is, what it does, and the network's impact, successes, and challenges to date. "AAVP supports and represents the diverse African communities involved in HIV vaccine research and development," say the authors, "and is an important unified voice for African stakeholders."