Cancellation letters that immediately close billions of Rands of US government-funded HIV and TB research grants for South African universities began to appear over the weekend. And, affected researchers said that more than 300 grants were expected to end by the end of Sunday and retain the massive impact for third-class learning and large-scale learning as a research institution.
Some experts estimate that 70% of South Africa’s medical research, or if both direct and subgrants are considered for past fiscal years, up to $400 million (approximately R7.2 billion) are funded through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which consists of 27 labs and centres, each focusing on a particular field of research. NIH makes about a quarter of biomedical research worldwide financially.
On Friday evening, the Whit Health Consortium at the University of Wit Waterland, a unit that operates clinical trials and donor-funded projects, received a cancellation letter for all components of $2.5 million (approximately R460 million to close in November 2027).
The cancellation letter sent on behalf of USAID Chief Grant Management Officer Emily Linde is standard and tells researchers that “they expand their knowledge of our living system, provide low returns on investment, and ultimately do not encourage them to improve health, prolong illness, and harm “American health.”
The WITS project is head of Helen Rees, WITS Reproductive Health Institute, and Ian Sanne, who currently heads the Clinical HIV Research Unit, the international development group at Palladium, as lead healthcare directors.
“Ironically, our grants have ended on Human Rights Day. That day is there to help and protect vulnerable people. Now, the US government is forcing us to oppose,” Sun told Bhekisisa. “If the research suddenly stops, court volunteers are at risk. Does this comply with international standards of human ethics?”
The study, which has been running since 2007, fell into the WITS Research Group clinical trial unit, conducting HIV and TB prevention and treatment studies, as well as testing hepatitis and HIV-related cancers.
Dismissal letter received on Human Rights Day
Other grants reportedly ended so far include the research project of Caprisa, a South African AIDS research programme led by Salim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim.
South African universities, which were subgranties for Health Research Awards from American universities, such as Columbia University in New York, were sent halt work orders on Friday after US institutions lost their own grants. SA agencies prefer not to be nominated at this stage.
Science Magazine reports that Glenda Gray, former chief of the South African Medical Research Council, has moved to an approved grant of $3.1 million (approximately R56.5 million) for the clinical trial unit of Soweto’s clinical trial unit (running Wits).
Caprisa, a South African AIDS Research Program Centre, has received funding from the NIH, led by Salim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim, but has not yet received the NIH Grant Entertainment Letters.
TB grants end when the US faces tuberculosis outbreak
Over the years, some of the HIV prevention studies in the Sanne and Reese project have been conducted in groups of people who are more likely to acquire HIV, including African teenage girls and young women, transgender people, and female sex workers.
Their cancellation email states that “the awards will no longer be prioritized by agents” and “research programs, which are based primarily on artificial and unscientific categories, including the purpose of amorphous equity, oppose scientific research, expand knowledge of the living system, provide low returns on investment, and ultimately increase health and promote disease extension.”
In the worst case scenario, the memo states: “So-called diversity, equity and inclusion (“DEI”) studies are often used to support illegal discrimination based on race and other protected characteristics.
The letter’s references on diversity, equity, and inclusion probably refer to the Wits unit’s study of trans people and female sex workers that the Trump administration doesn’t like.
On the night of his inauguration, January 20th, the president signed an executive order banning the rights of people identifying as transgender or non-binary individuals. There are only two genders. Declared Executive Order: Men and Women.
However, Saint-Ne says that reference to Day in their letters is pointless. While some of their research focuses on groups such as transgender people and sex workers, the majority of their work focuses on finding effective tuberculosis treatment for children and better medicines for people with multidrug resistant TB.
“In many ways, our work checks out every box in President Trump’s “make America great” box. It will make America safer, stronger and more thriving, protecting people from most patents and intellectual property of new drugs that lie with US businesses. ”
Subhead: Expert weight
Linda Gail Becker, who heads the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation at the University of Cape Town and receives NIH funding, warns clinical research companies of additional body blows.
Kansas is currently seeing the largest outbreak of tuberculosis the United States has seen in the last 30-40 years (TB is a disease that has been managed in the United States for decades). More than 60 cases of TB disease and two deaths have also been reported.
By Saturday, Bekker had not received a cancellation letter for the grant, but “it is a global concern to bringing the HIV and TB epidemic to places that do not withstand public health threats. South Africa played an important role and contributed to understanding and advancement in its quest.”
“Innovation in HIV prevention and treatment means that innovation in AIDS removal and removal or ending will become a dream, meaning HIV will continue to spread,” said Yoganpiray, director of HIV and TB distribution, which also funds HIV and TB research and also funds reductions in US government funding.
“That’s absolutely tragic.”
Trump: “No corrective action is possible here.”
The Wits project conducted important tuberculosis research. One study published in February and included on the NIH website looked at how doubling antiretroviral drug doses are.
Previous trials looked at how safe it is for pregnant women with HIV to take preventive tuberculosis drugs, how safe it is, how well the long-term injected antiretroviral therapy works for teens, and how well the two-month anti-HIV jab worked.
Saint-Ne says, “It is hard to imagine that (Elon Musk’s so-called) government efficiency (a major reduction in US government spending) is more than DEI activity through HIV and other research.”
The email states: “The NIH generally suspends grants (rather than immediately ending) and receives the opportunity to take appropriate corrective action before the NIH makes a decision to terminate, but here no corrective action is possible.
“The premise of this award is compatible with agency priorities, and project changes will not allow the project to be tailored to agency priorities.”
The end is not unexpected
However, the grant termination was not unexpected – or at least not since last week.
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On March 12, Science Magazine reported that NIH’s acting director Matthew Memoli had asked Institute officials to create a list of South Africa-related grants. The email had similar language to other NIH requests that led to the end of dozens of grants, including transgender health, vaccine reluctance and other topics the administration has not supported. ”
At least 300 US university projects have also been granted to end by the Trump administration. Many of them are American universities and protests across the United States.
The termination comes as part of what the Trump administration considers its lack of cost reductions and research to its ideology and could continue worldwide.
SA researchers have begun consultations between charities and governments and are intervening in fundraising.
The South African project, which received the cancellation letter, was told that it could “oppose and provide challenging documents and documents.”
However, they must follow a “first-level grant appeal process that must be exhausted” before they are first allowed to “submit an appeal to the department’s appeal committee.”
If the project chooses to appeal, you must submit your request within 30 days of receiving your termination.
Sanne says he plans to use the appeal process and negotiate how to close the exam in case he fails, at least ethically and responsibly. “Our research saved lives and the NIH helped us do that,” he explains. “What we need to do now is not to end decades of investment that leads to life loss, but to convince them of its value.”
This article mentions the Gates Foundation. Bhekisisa receives funding from the Foundation, but is editorially independent from the Foundation.
This story was produced by Thebhekisisa Center for Health Journalism. Sign up for TheNewsletter.
