A new US Administration took office in January 2025 and immediately moved to dismantle public health infrastructure in the US and around the world, including massive cuts to foreign assistance cuts to HIV and other global infectious disease research and widespread misinformation campaigns to discredit and undermine scientific knowledge, evidence and vaccine confidence.
Since day one, AVAC has served as a leader in standing up against this administration, bringing critical visibility to why investments in HIV services and research—and scientific research as a whole—matters.
Dr. Gregg Gonsalves, a long-active activist and AIDS researcher at the Yale University School of Public Health, and co-creator with AVAC of the 24-hour Marathon to Save AIDS Research on the need to sustain HIV research.
AVAC worked with global civil society partners to mobilize leading voices in research; strengthen advocacy skills through teach-ins, tools and resources; educate policy makers; conduct direct advocacy with members of the administration; make public comments; and disseminate timely and accurate information to track the impact of US government cuts to HIV and STI research. AVAC’s Research Matters series, in partnership with the Treatment Action Group (TAG) and the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA), provided briefings for researchers and policymakers and a toolkit of messages and advocacy guides for action to save research funding. Initiatives with allies—Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), FAPP Research Work Group, Save HIV Funding Campaign (SHF) and others—focused on pushing policymakers to preserve funding through legislative educational sessions.
Together with a volunteer coalition of the world’s leading HIV researchers and advocates, AVAC helped conceptualize, organize and host the 24-Hour Marathon to Save AIDS Research. This high-profile event brought together diverse members of the HIV research community to amplify global advocacy messages, counter misinformation and strategically advocate to protect decades of progress to end the epidemic.
The day-long broadcast featured 75 presenters representing major research institutions, public health organizations, civil society organizations and communities impacted by HIV worldwide, along with 42 endorsing organizations and robust engagement from viewers throughout all 24-hours of the livestream. The marathon live-stream reached almost 10,000 advocates, researchers, stakeholders, policy makers, journalists and community members from 28 countries and 30 US states.
While the current US administration continues its push to dismantle, defund and undermine scientific research, AVAC and partners have achieved some policy wins, including restoration of funds for basic research and HIV research by Congress. Most importantly, a new, broad coalition of US and Africa-based partners—including civil society advocates, researchers, journalists and policymakers—has emerged to lead this fight, creating a strong, coordinated global network dedicated to saving HIV research.
“Trust has been broken. We did
spend decades working in these
communities and now all those myths
and misconceptions about research
will start resurfacing. The years and
decades of work we’ve done to build
trust, to build research literacy, have
been undone in a matter of months.”