June 30, 2016
One crucial priority for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is bringing a durable end to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. For almost two decades, USAID has provided funding for research and development of an HIV vaccine and other biomedical prevention options. In addition, they have provided complementary support for advocacy and capacity-building efforts, with particular focus in countries that bear the largest burden of the epidemic.
USAID recently announced two five-year awards under its new HIV Vaccine and Biomedical Prevention Research Project. These two awards are complementary and collaborative. The first will focus on conducting preclinical and clinical HIV vaccine research and development and strengthening scientific capacity, especially in Africa. The second supports advocacy, research literacy, policy, communications, community engagement and regulatory activities for biomedical HIV prevention research globally, with a focus on low- and lower middle-income countries.
AVAC is pleased to announce that the first grant was awarded to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the second to AVAC. AVAC is grateful for this USAID support that will enable us to expand our research advocacy work—which has been at our core since AVAC’s founding over two decades ago.
As part of our proposal to USAID, we outlined an exciting coalition, involving a wide range of partners key to our field, to accelerate and support prevention research. We look forward both to implementing this project with partners new and old, and to collaborating with IAVI to ensure synergy between the two awards.
Only by working in collaboration across countries, prevention options, and partners—as exemplified in these awards—will we achieve a durable end to this epidemic.