HIV Vaccine Dream Crushed: US Aid Cuts Devastate South African Research, Threaten Global Health
PRETORIA, South Africa – July 14, 2025 – A promising quest for an HIV vaccine has been abruptly halted in South Africa, a devastating consequence of the United States' sudden withdrawal of crucial aid to global health initiatives. The move, enacted by the Trump administration, is sending shockwaves through the international health community, threatening to reverse decades of progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Just days before vital clinical trials were set to begin, researchers on Project BRILLIANT – a $46 million initiative leveraging South Africa's unique expertise in HIV research – were ordered to "stop all work." The cuts axe approximately $400 million annually in US aid to South Africa's HIV/AIDS programs, primarily via USAID and PEPFAR, and eliminate a pledged $4 billion for the global HIV response in 2025.
"Our labs are now empty," stated a disheartened researcher. South Africa's health department estimates that around 100 researchers have already been laid off. Experts like Glenda Gray, head of the BRILLIANT program, warn that losing South Africa's capacity, renowned for conducting HIV trials "better, faster and cheaper," impoverishes the global effort. Over the next five years, South African universities and science councils could face losing an estimated $107 million in US research funding.
The implications extend far beyond vaccine development. UN and other health organizations are sounding the alarm, predicting that without this vital US funding, millions more AIDS-related deaths and HIV infections could occur by 2029. UNAIDS highlighted a "systemic shock" that is disrupting supply chains, closing health facilities, and creating staff shortages, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where half of all new HIV infections occur.
Initial WHO estimates are stark: potentially over 10 million additional HIV cases and three million HIV-related deaths, tripling last year's figures. The cuts have already led to the layoff of at least 8,000 health workers in South Africa's HIV program, impacting essential services from patient tracking to counseling. Critical HIV surveillance data collection, largely funded by the US, has also ceased, blinding future public health responses.
South Africa's government acknowledges the immense difficulty in finding alternative funding to bridge this gaping hole, leaving vulnerable populations disproportionately at risk as the global fight against HIV/AIDS faces an unprecedented setback.
