A vaccine for HIV/AIDS will be found in the next ten years.

Sir Gustav Nossal the man who had the breakthrough in modern immunology (for which he was knighted in 1977) says that a vaccine for HIV/AIDS will be created within the next ten years. The Austrian-born scientist who is well known for his humanitarian work said: "I have no doubt that vaccinations for the big three (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria) will be found in the next decade.''

Sir Gustav said the number of children aged under five who died from preventable diseases in the developing world had dropped from 13 million children in 1990 to 9.5 million. He also said a quarter of people now are now treated for tuberculosis in Africa compared to a very few a decade ago. Practical measures to prevent malaria, such as insect repellent nets, were being delivered and the rate of HIV/AIDS infections is decreasing. "The position is bad, but less bad than it was 10 years ago,'' he said.

Sir Gustav said aid money should be aimed at the world's poorest people, who lived in the "basket-case nations'' of sub-Saharan Africa and the sub-continent, namely Bangladesh and Pakistan. "That is where we should be putting our most attention and resources. It's where most of the disasters are.''