Africa leads the charge: Milestone HIV vaccine trial begins in Cape Town

Africa is taking the lead in the global search for an HIV vaccine, as a first-in-human clinical trial gets underway in Cape Town.

20 HIV-negative South African volunteers have become the first people in the world to receive a new experimental HIV vaccine in this landmark study.

The trial is being conducted at the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation site at Groote Schuur Hospital.

This early-phase trial will focus on testing the vaccine’s safety and its ability to trigger an immune response.
 
South Africa continues to carry one of the highest HIV burdens globally, making locally driven research critical. 
 
South Africa has an estimated 8 million people living with HIV.

Leading health researcher Professor Glenda Gray says while a vaccine is still years away, this trial marks a hopeful and necessary step forward.

 "So the interventions we need is how do we get these viruses out of the reservoir so we can attack them, or can we make drugs that get to the virus in these sanctuary sites in the body."

She says the study represents a powerful shift, with African scientists at the centre of developing solutions to a virus that has affected the continent.