The King Baudouin Foundation and the Belgian Consortium for HIV-AIDS Research (BREACH) are joining forces and are allocating 400,000 euros over the next four years. Ten days ago, Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) announced that he would release 1 million euros after the number of HIV diagnoses in 2021 in Belgium had risen by 4 percent. “A drop on a hot plate”, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) fears.
“The AIDS/HIV epidemic is far from over. If you don’t invest in research, you pay with human lives,” said Doctors Without Borders on the occasion of World AIDS Day on 1 December. “Progress against the disease is slowing as financial support stagnates and many vulnerable states are hit hard economically and ecologically, leading to new infections.”
The announced 400,000 euros from the King Baudouin Foundation and BREACH is therefore certainly welcome. An independent international jury selected one project that can use the money in the coming years. The award-winning project is a collaboration between Ghent University, Ghent University Hospital, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, UMC Sint-Pieter, KU Leuven, UZ Leuven, UZ Brussel and the University Hospital of Liège.
The chosen project should characterize all aspects of the so-called “latent HIV reservoir of patients” with the virus. This is a major challenge because the reservoir (a set of cells in which the virus ‘sleeps’ but is inaccessible to antiviral drugs, ed.) is the main obstacle to the cure for HIV/AIDS.
Specifically, the study will compare the behavior of this reservoir between two groups of HIV patients. One group is treated for a short period of time, the other group receives a long antiretroviral treatment. The immunological profile of the patients will also be studied. Finally, new strategies to neutralize the reservoir will be evaluated in the laboratory on blood samples from the different groups of patients.
The project is part of a broader international study aimed at remission or even a cure for HIV/AIDS. “It also illustrates the high quality of AIDS research in Belgium and the capacity to pool the efforts of all research teams in our country,” said Thierry Van Noppen, spokesperson for the King Baudouin Foundation. “And in 2024 and 2026, new project calls will be added.”
The number of people tested for AIDS worldwide is falling. AIDS remains one of the three deadliest diseases in the world, along with tuberculosis and malaria. “However, prevention techniques and treatments do exist,” says Quentin Barrea of Doctors Without Borders. “What is especially lacking are the financial resources on a global scale.”
“Recently, Belgium pledged another 30 million euros to the Global Fund against HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria,” said Barrea. “Half of that is actually still part of our promise from the previous replenishment round. Belgium has therefore only pledged 15 million euros. We can safely call that a drop in the ocean.”
Our neighboring countries are doing a lot better. Germany will invest 130 million euros, the Netherlands 180 million euros, France 159.6 million euros and Luxembourg 117 million euros. “If the international community fails to mobilize more on these three diseases, humanity will pay the price,” concludes Barrea. “Any delay in the fight against HIV will lead to increased costs to health, people and the economy in the medium and long term.”
“The AIDS/HIV epidemic is far from over. If you don’t invest in research, you pay with human lives,” said Doctors Without Borders on the occasion of World AIDS Day on 1 December. “Progress against the disease is slowing as financial support stagnates and many vulnerable states are hit hard economically and ecologically, leading to new infections.” The announced 400,000 euros from the King Baudouin Foundation and BREACH is therefore certainly welcome. An independent international jury selected one project that can use the money in the coming years. The award-winning project is a collaboration between Ghent University, Ghent University Hospital, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, UMC Sint-Pieter, KU Leuven, UZ Leuven, UZ Brussel and the University Hospital of Liège. The chosen project should characterize all aspects of the so-called “latent HIV reservoir of patients” with the virus. This is a major challenge because the reservoir (a set of cells in which the virus ‘sleeps’ but is inaccessible to antiviral drugs, ed.) is the main obstacle to the cure for HIV/AIDS. Specifically, the study will compare the behavior of this reservoir between two groups of HIV patients. One group is treated for a short period of time, the other group receives a long antiretroviral treatment. The immunological profile of the patients will also be studied. Finally, new strategies to neutralize the reservoir will be evaluated in the laboratory on blood samples from different groups of patients. The project is part of a broader international study aimed at remission or even a cure for HIV/AIDS. “It also illustrates the high quality of AIDS research in Belgium and the capacity to pool the efforts of all research teams in our country,” said Thierry Van Noppen, spokesperson for the King Baudouin Foundation. “And in 2024 and 2026, new project calls will be added.” The number of people tested for AIDS worldwide is falling. AIDS remains one of the three deadliest diseases in the world, along with tuberculosis and malaria. “However, prevention techniques and treatments do exist,” says Quentin Barrea of Doctors Without Borders. “What is especially lacking are the financial resources on a global scale.” “Recently, Belgium pledged another 30 million euros to the Global Fund against HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria,” said Barrea. “Half of that is actually still part of our promise from the previous replenishment round. Belgium has therefore only pledged 15 million euros. We can safely call that a drop in the ocean.” Our neighboring countries are doing a lot better. Germany will invest 130 million euros, the Netherlands 180 million euros, France 159.6 million euros and Luxembourg 117 million euros. “If the international community fails to mobilize more on these three diseases, humanity will pay the price,” concludes Barrea. “Any delay in the fight against HIV will lead to increased costs to health, people and the economy in the medium and long term.”