Investing In Women’s Health

text: Prof Lenine Liebenberg photo: Supplied

Women’s health remains a critical yet underfunded frontier in global health research, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where rates of cervical cancer and reproductive tract infections continue to drive morbidity and mortality. As a scientist dedicated to addressing these inequities, I recently represented CERI by showcasing my research on this front at two pivotal Gates Foundation meetings in Durban, South Africa: the HPV Therapeutic Vaccine Convening and the VIBRANT Consortium Meeting on Live Biotherapeutics for Genital Health.

These meetings provided a forum to share our research and a lens into the remarkable collaborative efforts worldwide to improve women’s health outcomes.

Spotlight on HPV Therapeutic Vaccines: A Call for Continued Commitment

The HPV Therapeutic Vaccine (TxV) Convening brought together leading clinical scientists, laboratory scientists, social scientists and other public health experts to tackle one of the most pressing challenges in women’s health: how to treat persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infections that can progress to cervical cancer.

While prophylactic vaccines effectively prevent infection with HPV types responsible for most cervical cancers, they neither clear existing infections nor address the high prevalence of oncogenic non-vaccine HPV types in many countries.

In KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, our research shows HPV prevalence reaching 74% among young women, with oncogenic types not targeted by current vaccines contributing significantly to disease burden. Through longitudinal sampling and advanced immunological assays, our team investigates immune cell responses strongly associated with natural HPV clearance, offering promising insights for therapeutic vaccine design.

Although the Gates Foundation’s goals are changing, it was heartening to learn at the conference that there is still a strong commitment to exploring new collaborations and ways to carry out this vital work. The meeting demonstrated remarkable advancements in our understanding of the immunological correlates of HPV control and emphasised the significance of filling in knowledge gaps necessary to develop successful treatments.

VIBRANT: Innovating Live Biotherapeutics for Genital Health

The VIBRANT Consortium Meeting focused on live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) containing Lactobacillus crispatus, a beneficial bacterium known to support vaginal health and reduce the risk of bacterial vaginosis (BV). Our contribution centred on defining host immune responses associated with durable colonisation by LBPs, a key determinant of success for these novel interventions.

By integrating flow cytometry, cytokine profiling, and advanced multi-omics, we investigated early immune signatures predictive of long-term engraftment of beneficial bacteria, laying the foundation for optimising future LBP formulations. Discussions about embargoed preliminary data also emphasised actionable research priorities, such as the importance of vaginal mucosal immunity, epithelial barrier integrity, and behavioral factors influencing colonisation.

The vibrancy of the meeting — no pun intended — was a testament to the incredible progress and collaboration across scientific disciplines, with meaningful contributions from microbiologists, immunologists, clinical trialists, and social scientists.

The Imperative for Investment

Both meetings underscored an undeniable truth: women’s health research needs to be sustained, and targeted investment must be made to realise its transformative potential. As highlighted by the Gates Foundation, maternal mortality, reproductive cancers, and infectious diseases disproportionately affect women in sub-Saharan Africa, yet locally driven research efforts remain chronically underfunded.

CERI is proud to partner with other worldrenowned institutions and invest our intellectual and infrastructural resources into research on HPV, STIs, and live biotherapeutic strategies, leveraging state-ofthe-art laboratories and a track record of impactful, community-embedded studies. However, financial investment is vital to sustain and expand this work

— to move promising discoveries from bench to bedside, train a new generation of African women’s health research leaders, and develop contextappropriate interventions to save lives.

A Vision for the Future

I returned from these gatherings feeling motivated and uplifted by so many bright minds coming together to address the urgent problem of STIs and BV. The research community is steadfast in its commitment to guaranteeing that women everywhere receive the health interventions they are entitled to. However, these initiatives risk stalling in the absence of strong finance.

We invite collaborators, donors, and legislators to work with us toward a future where women’s health research is given the urgent attention it needs. We can transform innovation into equity by working together to empower women, build stronger communities, and improve health outcomes in Africa and beyond.

CAPTION: The HPV convening group, including Gates Foundation representatives and leading clinician and bench scientists driving the HPV therapeutic vaccine agenda.