South Africa: The end of the USAID slows down the fight against HIV

In South Africa. Nevertheless, a promising HIV program had to slow down its research due to the withdrawal of American funding.

Researchers in the program called Brilliant. Consequently, have to stop their activity one week before the launch of the clinical trials of a HIV vaccine which should have marked a decisive step in the response to the country’s HIV pandemic.

“In South Africa. For example, I would say that the community of researchers is still relatively small and that it is not always possible for everyone to obtain this funding and to be able to do their job, you know, so it is not always possible to do work that has a very important impact. For example, It is therefore always a concern. Similarly, at the moment, we are also trying to find funds to be able to continue this work, but south africa: end usaid slows again, we do not know if we will succeed and it has an impact on research, it has an impact on people who are carrying out research. Nevertheless, “, said Professor Abdullah Ely, group leader in gene therapy.

Among the significant advances. we can cite the clinical trials of Lenacapavir, the only bite to the world administered twice a year to prevent HIV, whose use has been recently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

One of the studies demonstrating its effectiveness has focused on young South Africans.

A team of researchers from the University of Witwatersrand was part of the unit responsible for developing HIV vaccines. for tests. In the Wits laboratory, Professor Abdullah Ely heads the team of researchers. He said the work had given promising results indicating that vaccines produced an immune response. But today, this momentum must have “stopped”.

This program south africa: end usaid slows was supposed to be the last to rely on genetic diversity. in -depth expertise in the region in the hope of making populations around the world benefit.

“My post is funded by subsidies. So if there are subsidies. if the fund is available, the subsidy is there, then they are able to pay my salary. And with my salary. I can also help at home, I can also, it is also to pay some of my studies and all that. So the fact that this happened affects me in the long term ”said Nozipho Mlotshwa, laboratory technician.

Glenda Gray. who heads the Brilliant program, said the African continent had played an essential role in developing HIV drugs, and that US budget cuts threatened its ability to carry out such work in the future.