JOHANNESBURG – South African lab technician Nozipho Mlotshwa was eagerly awaiting test results for a potential HIV vaccine, a breakthrough that has eluded scientists for decades, when the order came from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to cease work.
The initial round of vaccines produced an immune response in rabbits, offering promising but inconclusive results. Mlotshwa and her colleagues had revised the formula and sent four new versions for pre-clinical tests. “This was very exciting. We were getting quite good results,” said Mlotshwa, 32, at the Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand. Now, the animal blood samples with their results remain untouched in a freezer.
A trial of an earlier, separate vaccine candidate, poised for human testing in South Africa, Kenya, and Uganda, is also suspended. Both trials have fallen victim to US President Donald Trump’s decision to dismantle USAID.
The trials are part of BRILLIANT, a South African-led HIV vaccine development scheme funded entirely by a $45 million grant from USAID. The US State Department did not respond to requests for comment on the project’s future.
Nigel Garrett, Chief Scientific Officer at the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation and a project partner, expressed frustration: “It feels like you’re building something and you could really make a huge difference. And then it’s wiped away.”
The BRILLIANT project is among many worldwide research efforts affected by Trump’s actions since taking office. The administration’s decisions have halted initiatives to protect crops from pests, diseases, and the publication of a paper on the mpox outbreak.
HIV’s rapid mutation ability has hindered vaccine creation since its identification in 1983. Researchers in Johannesburg are utilizing mRNA technology, successful in developing some COVID-19 vaccines. BRILLIANT is unique for being Africa-led, aiming to build vaccine production capacity within the continent.
The Johannesburg team worked with genetic sequences from two South African HIV patients whose bodies produce a rare antibody neutralizing the virus. They sought to replicate this immune response. “We were gaining momentum,” said Patrick Arbuthnot, director of the research unit. “An HIV vaccine is the holy grail of the field.”
Trump’s January order paused all foreign development assistance for 90 days to assess its alignment with his “America First” policy. Additionally, he targeted South Africa with an executive order to cut all funding, citing disapproval of its land reform policy and its genocide case against US ally Israel.
The US foreign aid freeze has impacted global programs, stranding shipments of life-saving medical supplies, including HIV drugs, and impeding disaster response teams. Waivers for “life-saving humanitarian assistance” have been hindered.
South Africa, with over 8 million people living with HIV, is a research hub for the virus. “Most of the landmark and groundbreaking studies have been conducted in this country. But these have been good for the whole world,” said Ntobeko Ntusi, CEO of the South African Medical Research Council, which leads the HIV vaccine search.
Given the executive order, Ntusi did not expect the resumption of funding for projects like BRILLIANT. The council receives about one-third of its funding from US federal sources, primarily for research on HIV and tuberculosis, but also on maternal and infant mortality and antimicrobial resistance.
Garrett highlighted the readiness of a shot for human testing, a mix of two substances developed in the US and the Netherlands, which showed promise but were never tested together. They are now sitting in storage. “We had a huge opportunity, good funding. It’s difficult for other funders to fill that gap,” he said.