On Jun. 18, 1996, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) was launched, calling for the speedy development of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine for use worldwide. The Initiative created the Scientific Blueprint for AIDS Vaccine Development.

Since 1996, IAVI invested nearly $20 million in the research and development of HIV vaccines by companies and research institutes worldwide. IAVI received major financial support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; the World Bank; the Rockefeller, Sloan and Starr foundations; Becton, Dickinson & Co.; and eight national governments, among other donors. IAVI is a Collaborating Centre of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).