After decades of failed attempts, scientists were optimistic that a new generation of HIV vaccine candidates would finally succeed — changing the course of a pandemic that’s claimed more than 42-million lives since 1981. But that hope is now dimming as the US moves to pull vital funding.
A leaked document detailing the fate of more than 6 200 USAID programs lists two leading HIV vaccine efforts among 5 341 projects earmarked for termination. The 281-page file, reviewed by Bloomberg News and first reported by The New York Times, outlines the Trump administration’s plan to cut almost $28-billion in support for a wide range of global health initiatives — including Gavi, the vaccine alliance that immunises hundreds of millions of children against deadly diseases such as measles and malaria.
The largest HIV vaccine program on the chopping block is a long-running effort led by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, IAVI, which had been promised more than $319-million in US support dating back to 2016. While nearly $238-million had already been disbursed, IAVI said it had expected an additional $22-million through mid-2026. A stop-work order last month forced the organisation to wind down operations and lay off staff.
Another major casualty is a $45-million award to the South African Medical Research Council, intended to fund HIV vaccine trials across multiple countries. Only about $9-million of that funding will ultimately be received.
“We think it would be a tragedy not to continue the work,” said Glenda Gray, the council’s chief scientific officer. Researchers had proposed scaling back the study to include only South Africa — excluding Kenya and Uganda — in hopes of making it “more attractive to funders,” she said in an interview.
With USAID support evaporating, scientists are now rushing to secure alternative funding, hoping the US National Institutes of Health will step in to prioritise the work. But it’s unclear whether NIH — part of the Department of Health and Human Services — will be spared from broader austerity.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans Thursday to slash 10 000 jobs and shrink the agency’s budget by $1.8-billion, part of the Trump administration’s push to dramatically reduce the federal workforce and realign government with what it calls core priorities, including “reversing the chronic disease epidemic.”
Researchers estimate that hundreds of millions of dollars are still needed to bring an effective HIV vaccine to the finish line — a sum unlikely to come from any single donor.
“For the first time, based on work that’s come out over the past few years, we know what the goal is and we have a good idea about how to achieve that goal,” said Mark Feinberg, IAVI’s president and chief executive officer, in an interview before the proposed funding cuts came to light.
“We really need an HIV vaccine if we’re going to end this epidemic.”
BLOOMBERG
