Impact Report 2024
amfAR was able to make substantial gains in its international research, advocacy, and education initiatives in 2024. This brief summary highlights just some of our achievements. All were made possible with your generous support, for which we are profoundly grateful.
“Since childhood, I dreamed of achieving scientific breakthroughs to benefit society. By furthering my research into the elimination of HIV infection, the Mathilde Krim fellowship brings me another step closer to this dream.”
Gabriel Duette, PhD
Westmead Institute for Medical Research
Westmead, Australia
amfAR Mathilde Krim Fellow
Advancing innovative research worldwide
amfAR supported 195 researchers in the U.S. and around the world in 2024 and awarded nine new grants and fellowships to biomedical research teams advancing a range of strategies aimed at achieving a practical, accessible, and affordable cure for HIV.
Since 1985, amfAR has raised more than
$900 million
in support of its programs and has awarded more than
3,800 grants
to research teams worldwide.
Driving new approaches to an HIV cure
All ten cases of HIV cure to date have resulted from stem cell transplants required to treat blood cancers that threatened the lives of each of the ten individuals. amfAR researchers aim to achieve similar curative effects without resorting to the costly, high-risk procedure, using a range of techniques and strategies.
Gene therapy: employing a range …
Several teams are using gene therapy approaches. Elena Herrera-Carrillo, PhD, of the University of Amsterdam, for example, is employing lipid nanoparticles, like those used in mRNA vaccines against COVID-19, to deliver gene-editing enzymes that could render cells immune to HIV and excise the virus from cells that are already infected.
… of strategies
In another approach, Yiming Yin, PhD, of Boston Children’s Hospital, aims to genetically engineer B cells, imbuing them with the ability to target critical portions of the HIV envelope. Dr. Yin is testing a hypothesis that B cells expressing antibodies capable of neutralizing different HIV variants could reduce the size of the HIV reservoir and perhaps even replace antiretroviral therapy.
Focusing on Africa
Cure interventions will need to target the different HIV subtypes found throughout the world, and all regions will need the technical know-how to deliver any cure. Dr. Herrera-Carillo (see above) is including blood samples from people in Uganda in her research. She is also training Ugandan scientists in her lab in Amsterdam to reproduce her team’s gene-editing technique and, if it shows promise, to transfer that knowledge and related manufacturing processes to Africa.
“amfAR’s Mathilde Krim Fellowship helps me step into independent research in a field where I form part of a large team that fights to alleviate the disproportionate burden of HIV in my home country, South Africa.”
Simone Richardson, PhD
National Institute for Communicable Diseases
Johannesburg, South Africa
Through its longstanding partnership with the New York State AIDS Institute and as part of the New York State Department of Health’s Syringe Access initiatives and Condom Program, in 2024 amfAR prevented countless HIV infections by distributing
18 million
sterile syringes and
4.3 million
male and female condoms.
Sounding the alarm
Among numerous advocacy initiatives, amfAR published a study about what could happen if Southern U.S. states follow Tennessee’s lead and reject federal guidance on which populations to prioritize with HIV prevention and testing efforts. In short, the American South could see an additional 32,000 avoidable HIV cases by 2030, which is nearly comparable to current cases for the entire U.S. during an average year.
Improving community engagement
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria invests more than $5 billion a year to combat the three diseases. An international study cosponsored by amfAR was aimed at improving community engagement in the processes by which funds are allocated. The RISE (Representation, Inclusion, Sustainability, and Equity) study culminated in a report distilling the results of surveys and interviews with more than 650 participants from 83 countries. The study was honored with the prestigious Robert Carr Research Award at the 2024 International AIDS Conference.
Addressing the needs of women and girls
Against the backdrop of rising HIV infections among women and girls in several Asian countries, amfAR’s TREAT Asia program convened its first-ever think tank addressing the needs of this often neglected population. Many health conditions are specific to women, who are often underrepresented in HIV research. Recommendations arising from the think tank will inform TREAT Asia’s plans for improving health equity and outcomes.
Taking on cervical cancer
Research shows the risks for HIV and human papillomavirus (the main cause of cervical cancer) are mutually reinforcing. This means that women living with HIV are six times more likely to develop cervical cancer than those without HIV, and HPV infection doubles the risk of acquiring HIV. A recent amfAR report maps out a lifesaving solution—leverage the more well-established HIV infrastructure in high-burden countries to support underfunded HPV and cervical cancer services.