📌On HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, we are reminded of a sobering reality: despite decades of scientific advancements, there is still no licensed HIV vaccine. At the end of 2023, 39.9 million people were living with HIV, with 65% of them in the WHO African Region. Alarmingly, 44% of new HIV infections occurred among women and girls, and 210,000 adolescent girls and young women (15–24) acquired HIV — four times the 2025 target.
These numbers tell a clear story: gender inequality is at the heart of the HIV pandemic. Women, especially young women, continue to bear a disproportionate burden. This is not just a failure of medicine—it is a failure of equity.
But there is hope. We have an opportunity to change the narrative. The answer lies in community-led, gender-transformative approaches to HIV vaccine development. This means ensuring that women, girls, and all affected communities are not just passive beneficiaries of vaccine research but active participants, and this includes engagement and safe inclusion of women in all of their diversity in clinical trials, considering and upholding people-centred approaches
Why does this matter? Because a truly effective HIV vaccine cannot just be scientifically sound—it must be accessible, safe, trusted, and responsive to the needs of those most at risk. Gender-transformative approaches ensure that vaccine research, clinical trials, and delivery are designed to eliminate gender-based barriers.
But achieving this requires commitment and investment. As the Global Fund’s 8th Replenishment approaches, we must advocate for long-term funding that prioritizes these transformative principles. Community leadership and gender equity are not optional—they are essential.
❗The time to invest is now—health equity cannot wait ❗