Author: Jesse Copelyn

US funding for clinical research in South Africa is incrementally being cancelled. This is happening through at least two processes. The first is by banning certain kinds of foreign grants called sub-awards (which is affecting everyone globally). The second is by failing to issue routine renewals of grants for clinical studies in South Africa. On 1 May, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is the largest public funder of biomedical research globally, published a new policy prohibiting all foreign sub-awards. As a result, billions of rands in research grants for South African clinical studies are unlikely to be renewed over…

Researchers funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) are bracing for the worst, after rumours circulated that the agency is planning to cancel grants for South African clinical studies. Professor Ntobeko Ntusi, the CEO of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), told GroundUp that “we were alerted on Thursday last week that the NIH is considering imminently terminating all grants to South Africa … many of us believe these are likely to be announced in the coming days.” Ntusi previously told Spotlight that US grants make up 28% of the SAMRC’s funding. On Sunday, the University of Cape…