Earlier this month, the U.S. under President Donald Trump halted the BRILLIANT HIV vaccine project with a $46 million funding cut, just a week before trials were to begin. Amid U.S. under President Donald Trump’s broader foreign aid reduction, all funding for South Africa’s HIV vaccine project was withdrawn, partly due to baseless claims targeting the white Afrikaner minority.
Just a week before trials, vaccines showed immune responses, indicating readiness despite funding cuts, as noted by researchers including Glenda Gray. As a result of US aid cuts, about 8,000 South African health workers have been laid off, with infections expected to increase, according to sources.
South African universities and science councils could lose about $107 million over five years, threatening the country’s HIV and tuberculosis research capacity, with broader global implications.
