Yvette is a co-founder and co-director of Advocacy for Prevention of HIV and AIDS (APHA) in South Africa. She is a human rights activist with a focus on people living with HIV (PLHIV), young women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) communities. She became involved in HIV/AIDS advocacy after she was diagnosed with HIV in 2000. Since then, she has worked in HIV/AIDS education in the safety and security sector and founded two empowerment and support organizations for PLHIV. She has worked on award winning programs, including Brothers for Life, Scrutinize, Four Play, Intersexions and ZAZI.
Fellowship Focus
Yvette helped to empower young women in South Africa to demand HIV prevention interventions designed for them. She worked with the ZAZI training program to incorporate information about new prevention technologies and to mentor young prevention advocates. She also worked with the media to overcome “HIV fatigue” and promote accurate messages about prevention.
In Their Own Words
You’ll hear a lot of people say Depo is Africa’s most popular family planning method. But that’s not actually true. ‘Popular’ implies people choose Depo over other contraceptive options because they like it more… While DMPA is the most widely used long-acting method in many countries, including South Africa, the reality is that women are, every day, dependent on clinics where it is the only contraceptive choice on offer.
Media
- Yvette Raphael, The HIV Prevention Advocate Calling for the Full Package, Health-e News
- Lenacapavir: What it would it take to get the 6-monthly anti-HIV jab to SA, Bhekisisa
- The Basket of HIV Prevention Options Needs to be Filled — Times Live
- Where the Government see Statistics, I See the Faces of my Friends — Bhekisisa
- Urgent Appeal to Allow all Professional Nurses and Midwives to PrEP in South Africa — South African Medical Journal
- The Denver Principles: 40 years on — UNAIDS
- Global Community Advisory Groups Pave Way Forward for Inclusive Clinical Trials — Stories @ Gilead
- Why Africa Needs PrEP: A two-in-one pill to prevent HIV infection — Bhekisisa
Materials
Get in Touch
If you have any questions about the Fellows Program, or would like to reach out to a Fellow (current or alumni), e-mail us at fellows@avac.org.