In January 2025, President Trump ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign development assistance to assess its alignment with U.S. interests. This abrupt suspension halted numerous global health initiatives, including a promising clinical trial of what could become the first-ever HIV vaccine. Framed as an “America First” policy, the administration argued that taxpayer dollars should prioritize domestic concerns, even if it meant disrupting longstanding global health partnerships.
Researchers at the Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand used mRNA technology, the same methods used to create the COVID-19 vaccine, to produce their HIV vaccine. With 45 million dollars in funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Johannesburg-based team was advancing one of the most promising vaccine candidates to date, offering hope for regions hardest hit by the epidemic. In their first rounds of vaccines, the group successfully elicited an immune response in several rabbits. Lab technician Nozipho Mlotshwa reflected on the team’s progress, “This was very exciting. We were getting quite good results.”
The team prepared four additional versions for the next phase, preclinical testing. Unfortunately, the funding suspension has left these critical tests in limbo, jeopardizing the progress of this potentially groundbreaking HIV vaccine. The pause threatens to derail progress at a vital juncture in the global fight against HIV. South Africa has the largest population of people living with HIV globally, with approximately 8 million people—nearly 20% of the adult population—affected by the virus. The country has long been at the forefront of HIV research, with advancements made there often shaping prevention and treatment strategies worldwide, including in the United States.
This halt, combined with other actions by the Trump administration—such as cutting funds for global HIV prevention programs under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and limiting access to PrEP for vulnerable communities—risks reversing decades of progress. Health experts warn that stalling research in regions hardest hit by the virus will inevitably impact efforts to control HIV’s spread globally, including among the estimated 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States.
While a federal judge in the United States recently ruled that the Trump administration must temporarily lift the freeze on foreign aid funding, uncertainty remains about how and when the HIV vaccine development will resume. The World Health Organization has emphasized that any disruption to HIV research and treatment programs could have lasting consequences for global public health, potentially reversing decades of progress in controlling the epidemic.
SOURCES
https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-trump-pepfar-hiv-aid-freeze-0d9def2a63b0e2f53bfda9441baf584d