I move without notice: That the House -
1) notes with great interest the announcement by Professor Glenda Gray, head of the SA Medical Research Council, SAMRC, that the local trial of an HIV vaccine named R144, developed in Thailand and modified to protect against the South African strain of HIV, has been effective in providing recipients with almost 60% protection in its first year;
2) recalls that as a country we have been desperate to find an effective vaccine to halt the scourge of HIV and Aids considering the rapidity of its spread and the impact of its consequences on our working population;
3) acknowledges that the MRC has been devoting itself beyond the call of duty to provide South Africa with an effective vaccine and a protocol that could drastically curb its spread;
4) further acknowledges that the MRC has highly qualified and patriotic scientists devoted to serving South Africa to the best of their ability and leaving a lasting legacy; 5) conveys its appreciation to Prof Glenda Gray and her team for the work that has been done and the progress they have made in the search for an effective HIV vaccine; and
6) looks forward with eager anticipation to news of a further breakthrough after the larger trial, which is to be launched in January 2015.
Agreed to.