IAVI announces renewed support from the Danish government for its HIV prevention program

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS — MARCH 27, 2023 — IAVI is pleased to announce renewed funding from the Danish government, a longtime partner in the mission to develop a safe, effective, and accessible HIV vaccine. Denmark, represented by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) is committed to contribute a total of DKK 20 million (US$3 million) from 2022-2025, subject to annual confirmation.

“IAVI is grateful to the Danish government for its renewed investment in the development of an HIV vaccine, and for its continuing attention to the needs of communities disproportionally affected by the disease,” said Mark Feinberg, M.D., Ph.D., IAVI president and CEO. “We applaud the Ministry’s sustained commitment to combatting HIV/AIDS, and we are proud to count the people of Denmark among our partners toward expediting the development of an effective HIV vaccine, and ultimately, achieving the goal of a world without AIDS.”

Approximately 2 million people acquire HIV each year. Nearly two-thirds reside in sub-Saharan Africa, where women and adolescents face an even greater HIV risk than the general population. IAVI works to address this disparity through its robust network of African-led clinical research center partners in five sub-Saharan nations. With this new award, the Danish MoFA supports IAVI and its partners over the coming four years as they continue to:

• Build on the discovery of powerful, HIV-blocking antibodies, optimizing them as prevention modality.
• Test novel HIV vaccine concepts designed for use in Africa and globally.
• Develop prevention tools based on antibodies that will improve the health needs and sexual and reproductive health and rights of end-users, especially women and girls.
• Advance the careers of Africa’s early scientific investigators while increasing African leadership within HIV vaccine research.

Memory Mambwe at the Center for Family Health Research in Ndola, Zambia, in August 2022. Credit: Mwangi Kirubi

Developing and ensuring global access to HIV vaccines to all those who are most in need will be essential to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic. IAVI is a key international actor in Denmark’s efforts to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and contribute to Denmark’s broader development policy, and ensure universal health coverage, universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, and safeguarding the rights of adolescent girls and young women, as well as reducing health inequality within and among vulnerable low- and middle-income countries. Sustainable research capacity contributes to the resilience of communities in countries impacted by HIV/AIDS that are also vulnerable to other global health threats — as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us — that are undermining the health security and geopolitical stability of these countries.

IAVI also recognizes AIDS-Fondet, its long-standing Danish Civil Society partner, for its work on behalf of people living with HIV and its leadership in facilitating HIV vaccine advocacy in Denmark and around the world. “AIDS-Fondet works to prevent HIV and ensure access to care for some of the most marginalized groups of people. An HIV vaccine would be a game changer in this fight, with the potential of reaching those who are furthest behind in the global AIDS response,” said Lars Christian Østergaard, CEO of AIDS-Fondet. “IAVI is a key player and partner in this work, and I applaud the Danish government for its commitment to support capacity building of communities and local leadership in HIV prevention research.”

The Danish government is one of eight governments whose enduring support makes IAVI’s work possible, jointly with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the European Union, the World Bank, and many other generous supporters. The full list of IAVI funders is available at www.iavi.org.

See our donor spotlight for more details on Denmark as a long-standing funder to IAVI.