The SA Medical Research Council (MRC) has appealed to African governments, philanthropists and the private sector to step into the breach after the US government abruptly terminated funding for its leading HIV vaccine project.
Late last week the Trump administration informed thousands of US Agency for International Development (USAID) grant recipients worldwide their awards had been cancelled with immediate effect.
Among the affected organisations are scientific groups such as the Bringing Innovation to Clinical and Laboratory Research to end HIV in Africa through New Vaccine Technology (Brilliant) consortium, a multi-country effort led by the MRC. It was awarded $45.6m (R829m) by USAID in 2023 to develop an HIV vaccine.
The cessation of USAID funding not only jeopardises plans to develop an HIV vaccine but also disrupts efforts to develop the next generation of scientists, strengthen laboratory services and boost clinical trials infrastructure, said the MRC.
Decades of progress in HIV vaccine research could be accelerated if African leaders stepped forward, said MRC president Ntobeko Ntusi.
“The search for an HIV vaccine remains one of the most urgent global health challenges. Science is led by people, and Africa has demonstrated its capacity to deliver solutions for its own health crises. Now, more than ever, there is an opportunity for the continent to take charge of its own HIV/AIDS funding and research agenda,” he said.
The Brilliant consortium includes scientists from Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and SA, and aims to develop HIV candidate vaccines that are designed to neutralise strains of the virus prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The consortium had been poised to begin its first clinical trial when USAID issued instructions to stop work in late January, following Trump’s executive order to freeze all foreign aid pending a 90 day review to determine whether it aligned with his policy agenda.
Brilliant consortium principal investigator Glenda Gray said the termination of the grant was catastrophic for the science plans .
“Our first HIV vaccine trial was set to start at the end of January, and we were in discussions to manufacture new novel vaccines to test in our network. To [continue] this ambitious programme will require a lot of funding from all sectors within the African continent.” she said.
“We need to grow capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa and create a strong foundation for collaboration to increase opportunities that will advance the careers of promising scientists in HIV vaccine research,” she said.
Sub-Saharan Africa bears the brunt of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and is home to 25.9-million of the 39.9-million people living with the disease worldwide. There were 1.3-million new infections in 2023, of which 506 000 (39%) occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to UNAIDS.
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