Voice of America on PEPFAR and Obama’s Legacy
Voice of Americainterviews AVAC’s Mitchell Warren about the success of PEPFAR under Obama and Bush. Listen and learn about the potential for continued success if this high-impact program gets robust funding under the next presidential administration.
December 30, 2016 — Voice of America
Boston Biotech Designs Pump to Prevent AIDS
A Boston-based biotech company will partner with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in a $140 million effort to prevent HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.
December 30, 2016 — Boston Herald
Gates Foundation to Invest Up to $140 Million in HIV Prevention Device
ThisWall Street Journalarticle quotes AVAC’s Mitchell Warren in this story about a promising innovation in HIV prevention: a match-stick size implantable drug pump for delivering PrEP.
December 29, 2016 — The Wall Street Journal
35 Years into the AIDS Epidemic, It’s an Opportune but Precarious Time
On the occasion of World AIDS Day,Devexinterviews AVAC Executive Director Mitchell Warren to speak about best utilizing existing tools for treatment and prevention and the development of additional tools for the future.
December 1, 2016 — Devex
Leading African Academics Quiz Bill Gates on HIV/AIDS and the Role of Philanthropy
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates sat down to answer questions from African academics about HIV/AIDS.
November 30, 2016 — The Conversation
Is the HIV Prevention Pill a ‘Magic Bullet’?
PrEP is not a magic bullet. But we won’t end the HIV epidemic without it.
November 30, 2016 — Bhekisisa
Hundreds Attend Global LGBT Rights Conference in Bangkok
LGBT rights advocates and allies from all over the world have gathered in Bangkok this week for the 28th ILGA World Conference.
November 30, 2016 — Washington Blade
HIV Self-Test Kits May Speed Up Diagnosis But They’re Not for ‘the Morning After’
There’s a growing—almost silent—market for HIV self-testing kits. It’s a young market, and communities clearly need guidance. But health professionals say self-testing may help us end the AIDS epidemic.
November 29, 2016 — DW
HIV in America: The Complicated Truth
Check out AVACer Emily Bass’ timely piece on the history of AIDS published inEsquire.
November 29, 2016 — Esquire
City Press Reviews: Beneath the Armour
South African HIV/AIDS advocates shared personal stories in an event hosted byThe Moth, an organization dedicated to helping people from all walks of life tell their stories.
November 27, 2016 — City Press Reviews
Uganda: Top 40 Men Under 40
AVAC Program Manager Angelo Kaggwa-Katumba is named among Uganda’s Top 40 men under 40 in a special edition ofSunday Vision, a publication of the Ugandan media giantNew Vision. The Top 40 singles out 40 men and 40 women under the age of 40 for their leadership as role models for the next generation of Ugandans. Kaggwa-Katumba’s work advocating for rights-based HIV prevention and helping to strengthen partnerships across civil society in Africa was applauded by the publishers.
November 27, 2016 — New Vision
We Just Don’t Know What President Trump Will Do On HIV, But The Signs Are Worrisome
During the US election campaign, plenty was said about emails and sexual harassment. But there was little or no talk on global health or HIV. That has left Mitchell Warren, the head of AVAC, worried.
November 25, 2016 — DW
Male Circumcision is Effective in Combating HIV
We are writing in response to a commentary by Dr Ronald Goldman titled, “Recommendation of circumcision for HIV prevention is biased” that appeared in the 2 November 2016 edition of The Namibian…Dr Goldman’s commentary has many unsubstantiated and incorrect claims and we want to address some of them here and why we believe VMMC is an important part of Namibia’s response to HIV.
November 23, 2016 — The Namibian
Aid Groups Grapple With Stigmatization in HIV Prophylaxis Roll-out
Researchers and advocates must ensure it is not perceived as exclusively a treatment for marginalized groups, which will lower its appeal both within those communities but also to other people who could benefit from it.
November 18, 2016 — Devex
Why are HIV Groups Charging Gilead with Bad Behavior in New PrEP Trial?
Gilead is not following the accepted standard for community engagement in its new pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) trial, and we are among a coalition of HIV activists and organizations from Europe and North America calling them out on their bad corporate behavior. We root our criticism in the Good Participatory Practice (GPP) guidelines that were inspired, in part, by controversies in earlier PrEP trials.
November 16, 2016 — The Body
Trump Likely to be Indifferent to Africa
US president-elect Donald Trump is likely to be as indifferent to Africa as he was when he made his first foreign policy campaign speech in April—when he barely mentioned the continent.
November 10, 2016 — Times LIve
HIV Antibody Safe With Hint of Efficacy
Infusions of an antibody against HIV were safe and appeared to suppress the virus briefly when anti-retroviral medications were stopped, researchers said. But in two small phase I clinical trials, HIV rebounded within weeks of stopping standard triple-drug therapy.
November 9, 2016 — MedPage Today
Funding Challenges Threaten HIV/AIDS Vaccines R&D
A new report has revealed how research and development for AIDS vaccines, microbicides, pre-exposure prophylaxis using antiretroviral drugs (PrEP) and treatment as prevention (TasP) are in danger of being slowed or even sidelined because of inadequate funding.
October 26, 2016 — The Herald
Mass Circumcision Cut HIV Acquisition
An aggressive program of voluntary male circumcision in Kenya—a procedure shown to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV—has already prevented thousands of infections, a researcher said here.
October 20, 2016 — MedPage Today
Experts Reiterate PrEP’s Effectiveness After Second Man Contracts HIV While Taking Medication
The need for PrEP to be used in conjunction with condoms was highlighted when scientists announced that a second man taking the daily HIV-prevention pill had contracted a rare, drug-resistant strain of the virus.
October 20, 2016 — Attitude
Second Case Emerges Of Someone On Daily PrEP Getting HIV
This is the second case of a man on Truvada, the once-a-day pill that’s highly effective at preventing HIV, contracting a rare drug-resistant strain of the virus.
October 19, 2016 — Buzz Feed
HIVR4P Ushers in ‘Next-Gen’ Prevention
The next generation of biomedical HIV prevention will be a hot topic here at HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) 2016. Long-acting novel antiretrovirals delivered through shots or implants, vaginal rings loaded with antiretrovirals and hormonal contraception, infusions of antibodies against HIV and new HIV vaccines are all on the table—and in the works.
October 12, 2016 — MedScape
With global trials expanding, more HIV vaccines are put to the test
“Vaccine developers will insert pieces of HIV in the vaccine candidate. You can’t become infected from the vaccine. They insert snippets that will help the body react to the virus,” explained Mitchell Warren, the executive director of AVAC, a New York City-based NGO that advocates for the accelerated ethical development of HIV vaccine and prevention options.
October 3, 2016 — The Body
All Stakeholders Must Be Engaged in HIV Cure Research, Webinar Says
Clinical trials for an HIV cure need a comprehensive, transparent engagement plan that includes educating all possible stakeholders, said Jessica Salzwedel of AVAC during a recent Stakeholder Engagement webinar based on the CUREiculum, a set of tools developed by a number of HIV organizations that provide information on HIV cure research.
September 21, 2016 — TheBody.com
New Vision Lauded for Good Science Reporting at International Conference
The panel called for responsible media reporting about the HIV cure research and advised that all articles about HIV cure research results should include perspectives and quotes from independent scientists not involved in the study or studies being reported, be skeptical about any articles making claims about timelines, always cite the original science paper, avoid inflating research results and avoid speaking about “HIV cure” by itself—always include the word “research”.
July 29, 2016 — New Vision
Barriers to PrEP: Rollout of This HIV Prevention Tool is Hitting Bumps
Last year, South Africa’s Medicines Control Council approved PrEP and in June this year the government began rolling it out among selected sex worker programs around the country. There are hopes it will be rolled out in the public sector by the end of the year.
July 22, 2016 — Devex
AIDS Activists Wonder If Black Gay Lives Matter
“When we say ‘Black Lives Matter,’” said Michael Ighodaro, “Where are ‘Black Gay Lives’ in that?” A young, gay Nigerian refugee living with HIV in New York City, Ighodaro posed this question during a talk leading up to the International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016).
July 22, 2016 — Charleston Chronicle
Data Gaps Hide Pockets of HIV
Large pockets of HIV infection are not acknowledged, due to a lack of data on HIV occurrence and prevention efforts around the globe, a study has found.
July 20, 2016 — Sci Dev
Experts Say AIDS Vaccine Development is Necessary to End the Epidemic
Modeling data published recently by IAVI, AVAC and Avenir Health shows that a vaccine is needed to conclusively end the AIDS epidemic. These findings are particularly timely as the most recent statistics from UNAIDS show that major investments in current treatment and prevention programs have not reduced new annual HIV infections in recent years.
July 20, 2016 — The Health Site
Africa: Hope vs Hype in Cure Reporting – Getting Our Soundbites Right
Most of the delegates at AIDS 2016 will have heard this. “Towards an HIV Cure” sessions have clearly outlined how complex the science is and how long it will take before we get there. Moreover, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director, Dr Anthony Fauci, has toldPOZhe believes that success on the cure front is a matter of “if” rather than “when.”
July 20, 2016 — What’s Up HIV
Prevention Must be at the Forefront to Meet Global HIV Goals
Today’s HIV goals are even more ambitious, and rightly so. Thanks to a spate of scientific advances, this decade could be the beginning of the end of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. But it won’t be if the focus stays only on scaling up treatment.
July 18, 2016 — STAT
Authorities Launch HIV Tests on Bodies in Mortuaries
The research leading to the report sought to find the link between HIV infection and deaths in two of Nairobi’s largest morgues.
July 18, 2016 — Standard Media
HIV Cure Takes a Centre Stage at AIDS Conference
The Co-chair of the 21st International AIDS Society (AIS) Nobel Laureate Françoise Barré-Sinoussi said the search for curative strategy of HIV is a goal of paramount importance and a priority for the future of HIV research.
July 17, 2016 — New Vision
Vaccine Development Necessary to End the AIDS Epidemic
A team from International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), led by President and CEO, Mark Feinberg, will be encouraging the global response to end HIV at the 21st International AIDS Conference, in Durban, South Africa.
July 17, 2016 — Times of India
New HIV Therapies are Not Without Risks, Leading Scientist Warns
Leading US scientist Anthony Fauci on Saturday reminded researchers hunting for a cure for HIV to make sure they were open about the risks patients faced in investigating novel therapies, and did their utmost to protect their safety.
July 16, 2016 — Business Day Live
The Science Behind a Cure for HIV
At the April meeting of the Miami Men who have Sex with Men Collaborative, Dr. Mario Stevenson discussed “Obstacles to the Cure of HIV Infection.” Stevenson identified the major obstacle to an HIV cure as those “resting,” HIV-infected cells that fail to express signs of infection.
July 15, 2016 — South Florida Gay News
Think the World Has Beat AIDS? Think Again.
Sixteen years after the last International AIDS Conference in South Africa, the global picture is mixed.
July 15, 2016 — US News
New Strategy Holds Hope for HIV Cure
A comprehensive new strategy, developed by the International AIDS Society (IAS) and published online in the journalNature Medicinethis week, presents key priorities for research to develop what experts consider to be one of the most important global health goals of our time—a cure for HIV.
July 13, 2016 — IT-Online
Remission Seen as a More Realistic Goal in HIV Research
Despite recent scientific advances, a cure for HIV remains elusive and it would be more realistic to focus on putting the disease into remission, according to one of the world’s leading HIV cure researchers.
July 12, 2016 — Business Day Live
Scientists Are Pursuing Multiple Approaches to an HIV Cure, Expert Says
The HIV research community continues to make progress toward finding a cure but is still grappling with a range of challenges, an expert in the field said in a webinar on June 6. The event was the first in a series of educational webinars taking place this month entitled “CUREiculum,” which are organized by AVAC.
July 8, 2016 — The Body
Johnson & Johnson’s New AIDS Vaccines Shows Promising Result In Clinical Trial
Johnson & Johnson, the home, and personal care company, proudly announced that their scientists were able to develop a vaccine for AIDS that showed promising results in the preliminary study for its approval. However, the test was only conducted on non-human primates.
June 26, 2016 — The News Independent
Sex, Sugar Daddies and HIV in South Africa New Programs Hope to Beat AIDS by Helping a Group That’s Been Beyond Reach: Young Women
“We’ve known for years that the face of AIDS is a woman’s face,” says Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC, a nonprofit organization that advocates for HIV prevention. “What we do not yet know is how to fundamentally disrupt that from happening.”
June 13, 2016 — US News
End in Sight for HIV?
There is new hope of finally defeating HIV—a vaccine to prevent the disease to be tested in South Africa beginning in November.
May 19, 2016 — Times Live
Dapivirine Vaginal Ring Reduces HIV Infection Rates in Women
Incidence of HIV-1 infection in African women treated with dapivirine was 27 percent lower than in those given a placebo, study shows.
February 29, 2016 — The Pharmaceutical Journal
First Case Of Someone On Daily PrEP Getting HIV
The man was on Truvada, the once-a-day pill that prevents HIV, but contracted a drug-resistant strain of the virus. This landmark case shows that we can’t rely too much on any one drug, experts say.
February 25, 2016 — BuzzFeed
Vaginal Ring is Sort of Effective at Preventing HIV Infections in Women
Findings that a vaginal ring could prevent the transmission of HIV in some women elicited cheers and cautious sighs of relief in the global health community.
February 24, 2016 — Humanosphere
Vaginal Ring Could Help Prevent Spread of HIV
A vaginal ring that administers an experimental drug has been found to reduce HIV among women when used both properly and consistently, a recent study published inThe New England Journal of Medicinereports.
February 23, 2016 — Science Recorder
Promising New HIV Prevention Tool Gives Women Greater Control
A new tool for women to protect themselves against HIV is a step closer, with the announcement on Monday that a vaginal ring containing the antiretroviral drug dapivirine is safe and reduces the risk of infection by up to 56 percent.
February 23, 2016 — Business Day Live
New HIV Protection for Women on the Cards
In Africa, young women can have up to 8 times higher HIV rates than their male counterparts. Local and international researchers have spent many years and millions of dollars trying to find a product that helps women protect themselves from HIV. Most products have failed.
February 23, 2016 — Times Live
A Vaginal Ring for HIV Prevention? Two Large Studies Show Experimental Devices Hold Promise
There’s finally hope that a convenient and inexpensive option that puts more of the power in women’s hands may be available in the not-so-distant future. Scientists reported this week that two large-scale studies in Africa have shown that a flexible vaginal ring that women can insert themselves may be able to provide limited protection against the virus.
February 23, 2016 — Washington Post
Study Finds Anti-AIDS Vaginal Ring Partially Protects Women
In a new approach to HIV prevention, women modestly reduced their risk of infection by inserting a vaginal ring coated with an anti-AIDS drug once a month, according to two long-awaited studies from Africa.
February 23, 2016 — ABC News
Study: Vaginal Ring Reduces HIV Infection in Women
A vaginal ring that releases an anti-AIDS drug has been found to modestly reduce the risk of HIV in women, according to two new studies presented Monday.
February 22, 2016 — USA Today
Study Finds Anti-AIDS Vaginal Ring Partially Protects Women
Women who inserted a vaginal ring coated with an anti-AIDS drug once a month were partially protected against HIV infection, researchers said Monday as they released long-awaited results from two large studies in Africa.
February 22, 2016 — CBS12
Drug-laced Vaginal Ring Succeeds Against HIV — Sometimes
When a field is besieged by failures, small steps forward seem like great triumphs. That’s the case with the latest effort to protect women at high risk of being infected with HIV.
February 22, 2016 — Science
AIDS Group Slammed For Filing Complaint Over HIV Drug Commercial
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation filed an FDA complaint against Gilead, which makes Truvada, a drug that can prevent HIV infection. But several health care experts and activists say the complaint is inaccurate — “patently false” — and part of the group’s crusade against promiscuous sex.
February 11, 2016 — BuzzFeed
New HIV infections in NYC highest in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights
Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights lead the city in new HIV infections, according to data released by the Health Department.
February 7, 2016 — amNEWYORK
UB Student Doubles as Male Escort, Gay Porn Star
A UB student, who goes by the name Elliott Vance, works as a male escort and formerly a gay porn star to financially support himself.
February 7, 2016 — The Spectrum
Researched Model Suggests Vaccine Could Eliminate HIV/AIDS Epidemic
A newly published research modeling shows that using a vaccine with comprehensive response to HIV/AIDS could successfully eliminate the epidemic around the world.
January 9, 2016 — Vaccine News Daily
Modeling Shows a Vaccine is Essential to Conclusively End HIV/AIDS
A new modeling paper has revealed that adding a vaccine to the comprehensive HIV/AIDS response is essential to conclusively end the epidemic.
January 8, 2016 — ETHealthworld.com
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