While in South Africa, USAID Deputy Administrator Paloma Adams-Allen announced that the Agency awarded a contract to South African Medical Research Council for HIV vaccine research and development, creating opportunities for scientists across sub-Saharan Africa to be at the forefront of innovation.

After nearly 40 years of the global search for a preventive HIV vaccine and more than two decades of investments by USAID toward this goal, the Agency is proud to support sub-Saharan African scientists, institutions, collaborators to design and test improved HIV vaccine candidates.

The announcement comes at a pivotal moment in our work to end HIV as a public health threat by 2030. The U.S. government’s pursuit of an HIV vaccine has been made possible by PEPFAR, and its reauthorization is critical to continue to push for innovation in the HIV fight.

Deputy Administrator Paloma Adams-Allen details more about the announcement in her column for Business Day, published September 21.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).