4:00 - 5:30pm [CET]
HIV vaccine research is at a crossroads. Delays in PEPFAR reauthorization, tightening of NIH budgets and shifting of donor priorities toward other health and security agendas are creating instability for ongoing and planned HIV vaccine trials. Yet, across Africa, researchers, civil society and communities remain committed to advancing vaccine science and sustaining clinical research capacity built over decades.
Coordinated advocacy, both regionally and globally, will be critical to support sustainable, locally led HIV vaccine science. But what efforts are still progressing in the face of these seismic policy shifts? How are African partners leading the charge? And how can we come together to advance the field?
At this inflection point for HIV vaccine research, IAVI and the IAS are launching a new advocacy engagement series to explore these pressing questions. This initiative builds on the earlier webinar for 2025 HIV Vaccine Awareness Day and the pre-conference on African-led HIV vaccine research at IAS 2025 in Kigali, Rwanda.
The first webinar in the series aims to provide a public platform for the global HIV community to take stock of the moment we are in: mapping African-led assets, gaps and opportunities amid global funding cuts. Country case studies will illustrate the impact of recent policy and funding shifts on HIV vaccine research in central, eastern, southern and western Africa, while highlighting locally led strategies to keep critical work moving forward. A dynamic panel discussion will then explore African leadership and collaboration to secure the future of HIV vaccine development.
This four-part advocacy engagement series aims to mobilize global and regional stakeholders to help secure sustainable, diversified investment and political commitment for African-led HIV vaccine research and development.