HIV Prevention Breakthroughs:
Prof. Abdool Karim at Mustafa(pbuh) Prize Week
After 18 years of pioneering HIV research and achieving breakthroughs such as a tenofovir topical gel and a 6-monthly injectable, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, Director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), envisioned a new outlook for global HIV prevention.
MSTF Media reports:
Professor Abdool karim talked about constant challenges and promising advancements in HIV prevention in Africa, a continent with a high rate of HIV infection.
According to UNAids, in 2023, about 7.7 million people in South Africa were estimated to be living with HIV, which constitutes almost 12% of the population. Despite the political, economic, and cultural barriers, the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) has remained at the forefront of efforts to address the epidemic.
“We have been addressing this issue for the past 18 years,” said Prof. Abdool Karim.
One of the pioneering studies in HIV prevention was CAPRISA 004, led by Quarraisha Abdool Karim, co-founder and Associate Scientific Director of CAPRISA, the President of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), and one of the speakers at 2025 Mustafa(pbuh) Prize award ceremony.
This clinical trial demonstrated partial protection against HIV transmission using a tenofovir topical gel. Results showed that “Tenofovir gel reduced HIV acquisition by an estimated 39% overall, and by 54% in women with high gel adherence.”
Asked about the scientific challenges in proving the efficacy of Tenofovir gel in this trial, Prof. Abdool Karim stated that “the biggest problem was to find a molecule that could neutralize the virus before it enters the body.”
Prof. Abdool Karim also reflected on how HIV research has evolved over time. “We used to focus fundamentally on treatment of individuals who are already HIV positive,” he said. “Now, we’re fundamentally targeting those healthy individuals, trying to prevent them from getting the virus. This presents for us the major problem.”
In this regard, Prof. Abdool Karim talked about a promising highly effective HIV inhibitor “which is currently being evaluated as a 6-monthly injectable in clinical trials for HIV prevention.”
“Right now we aim at a rollout, trying to make it available to those who need it,” Prof. Abdool Karim concluded.
Professor Salim Abdool Karim is a renowned South African clinical infectious diseases epidemiologist, widely recognized for his contributions to AIDS and COVID-19 research and leadership. He is the Director of CAPRISA and was a participant of the 10th Science and Technology Exchange Program (STEP), which was held at Amirkabir University of Technology on the sidelines of the 2025 Mustafa(pbuh) Week.
Science and Technology Exchange Program (STEP) in Islamic countries is one of the event held during Mustafa(pbuh) Prize week in Tehran, aimed at fostering collaboration among scientists from Islamic countries. The 2025 Mustafa(pbuh) Prize week was held from 6-10 September, bringing together science and technology enthusiasts, including 107 heads of organizations, researchers, technologists and journalists from 29 countries.
