First Full Day of AIDS 2024

Lenacapavir for PrEP has taken center stage at the 25th International AIDS Conference, #AIDS2024, which opened Monday with many highlighting its potential for long-acting PrEP for HIV prevention. Some advocates took to the halls in protest calling on LEN’s maker to price the product low. Leaders across HIV voiced the need for urgency in galvanizing support for the introduction of lenacapavir. “It is gobsmackingly exciting to see zero in a clinical trial” AVAC’s Mitchell Warren told Forbes. The potential to bend the curve of the epidemic depends on speeding access to prevention options like LEN, that show high efficacy. 

At the same time, it’s imperative to remember that neither lenacapavir, nor any other single product, now or in the future, will ever be a ‘miracle drug’, and LEN must not be equated with a vaccine, as seen in some conference media reports.  

Ongoing investment in the pipeline for HIV prevention must be founded on the principle of choice, offering a range of products to meet diverse needs among people facing the risk of HIV. We hope that vaccines will one day be among those choices, as will long and short-acting products, and topical and systemic products. Clear communication that allows product users to understand how products are different supports widespread adoption of HIV prevention and moves the world toward finally ending the epidemic.  

See AVAC’s statement calling for early planning to accelerate LEN’s regulatory review and for ambitious introduction plans, and the joint civil society call to action with specific priorities about what needs to happen next. Our primer, the Lens on LEN, also offers advocates a guide in explaining the findings from the Purpose 1 trial and next steps for advocacy. 

As Albert Liu from UCSF’s Center for AIDS Research told delegates in the symposium on breakthrough and insights in long-acting technologies, “It’s never just the ‘product.’ New options can’t solve everything.” Atul Gawande of USAID reiterated a similar message at the satellite focused on women’s prevention, “The critical message to understand is that there isn’t going to be a magic bullet for prevention. What we have to understand is that there are also considerations that affect the likelihood that women will have what they want and what they’re likely to use.”

People First

The conference theme, “Put People First,” is the main message we all must hear. Lillian Mworeko of the International Community of Women living with HIV/AIDS East Africa (ICWEA) captured the essence of the meeting: “I am not just a recipient of care. I need a seat at the table to meaningfully engage and tell people what I need and how I need it.” 

Monday’s opening session underscored the vital role of community engagement and the necessity for inclusive policies that address disparities affecting marginalized populations. Jay Mulucha of Fem Alliance, Uganda, the first trans man to speak at the International AIDS Conference, delivered a compelling message to the 12,000+ delegates attending both in person and online: “As a trans man living in Uganda, I am asking you to stop leaving us behind. Nothing about us, without us.”

New UNAIDS Report

UNAIDS released a report, The Urgency of Now, AIDS at a Crossroads calling out funding disparities and the need to dismantle the discrimination and stigma that are pushing the most marginalized people away from health care. The report warned of the peril in delayed funding decisions; investment needs to happen urgently for long-acting treatment and prevention options to reach all low- and middle-income countries and meet 2025 targets.

Money, Money, Money

Making the most of investment in HIV prevention fundamentally depends on political will, but the field needs the right data, too. Monday’s satellite session, Money, money, money: Building towards a sustainable end state for HIV prevention, called for better data that goes beyond PrEP initiation numbers. “[PrEP initiations] alone do not tell us how much product is needed or how long people stay on PrEP. We are not collecting the right data,” said Katherine Kripke of Avenir Health. AVAC’s Mitchell Warren described the vicious cycle of small pilot projects generating limited data on PrEP use, resulting in unpredictable demand and cautious investment. “We have lots of small examples, and then we don’t scale it up because governments don’t know what it will cost. And still the world has 1.3 million new infections. We have to break the cycle.”

The Future of Women’s Prevention

At the session organized by CASPR (Coalition to Accelerate & Support Prevention Research) and MATRIX (Microbicide R&D to Advance HIV Prevention Technologies through Responsive Innovation and Excellence), New ways for the next wave: Innovative R&D for the future of women’s prevention, MATRIX laid out their innovative approach that involves very early engagement of all stakeholders in the research, development and delivery of new products for HIV prevention. The session emphasized the equitable inclusion of women in all phases and in every aspect of R&D—as researchers, potential users, and advocates.

Sharon Hillier of Magee-Women’s Research Institute noted, “What we’ve learned in our research is that women care about efficacy, but it’s just one element of what they consider when they decide on prevention. They’re quite interested in safety, ease of use, discretion, price, availability, and accessibility.”  

Stay tuned for more highlights from AIDS 2024 and visit our curated conference webpage, which includes new resources and summaries of the preconference sessions.

Upcoming Webinars and a Roundup of New Resources

Last week’s interim result of the PURPOSE 1 HIV prevention study of injectable lenacapavir is captivating headlines. Check out AVAC’s statement here and one from the PURPOSE 1 Global Community Accountability Board and the African Women’s Prevention Community Accountability Board here. But there are LOTS of other things also happening in HIV prevention, and we’re delighted to share this roundup.

Upcoming Webinars

Responding to Project 2025’s Threats to Science, Rights and Resources

Project 2025 is part of an ongoing multi-pronged backlash to the sexual and reproductive health, gender and LGBTQ+ movements. Building on the experience of the HIV movement in fighting these same far-right forces, join this Choice Agenda webinar discussing potential responses through the lens of HIV affected communities and programs. Register here

You Get What You Measure: Why Monitoring for PrEP Choice Helps Tell Our Story

The data collected on a program determines its path and priorities. This Choice Agenda webinar will cover the current state of PrEP monitoring and evaluation, and efforts to improve and simplify data-gathering to better reflect how people use PrEP and to support choice amongst the growing array of PrEP methods. And the discussion will also focus on how data can be used to enhance the stories we tell about PrEP program implementation. Register here

Recordings and Resources

From The Lab To The Jab Webinar and Issue Briefs

Earlier this month, AVAC hosted a webinar highlighting our series of issue briefs, From The Lab To The Jab, covering research and development, mRNA technology, vaccine production, issues relevant to equitable global access to vaccines. The webinar featured panelists from the International Vaccine Institute, International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, and æqua, a think tank focused on equity and economic justice for health. Panelists discussed international initiatives for vaccine development, the current state of vaccine research and access, and how they can be improved. Read more

The GPP Body of Evidence: GPP Monitoring and Evaluation Frameworks, REAL and REAL2

GPP is an essential part of clinical trials research, and an ethical imperative to creating equitable and effective clinical trials. GPP is created by and for communities, so it looks different and takes multiple forms in different cultural contexts. This kind of responsiveness is inherent to GPP, but it also makes it difficult to measure and evaluate. In this webinar, participants will learn from the Realist Review of Community Engagement and the REAL2 review of participatory research. Each examined frameworks for evaluating community engagement efforts. We’ll also learn about the Global Health Network’s new course on evaluation, and other efforts in the field to evaluate the impact of GPP. View the recording

It’s Not Just about the Trial: GPP from discovery to delivery in TB research

GPP enhances every stage of the research lifecycle. In this webinar, our partners at TB Alliance, SMART4TB, and THINK shared experiences, lessons learned, and innovative approaches in integrating GPP at the organizational, network and situational level, from drug development through delivery. View the recording

Advocates’ Guide to Doxycycline to Prevent Bacterial STIs (DoxyPEP)

Doxycycline, an oral antibiotic, can be used as a post-exposure prophylaxis, commonly referred to as DoxyPEP, when used to prevent the acquisition of some bacterial STIs after sex. Doxycycline is inexpensive, easily tolerated, and widely available. However, questions remain regarding who will benefit most from DoxyPEP and how to implement this strategy broadly to ensure equitable access and minimize antimicrobial resistance. This guide seeks to explore and address these critical questions. Read the guide

Episode 3: The Promising Science

Our Mitchell Warren speaks to ViiV’s Kimberly Smith in this episode of the Foreign Policy podcast series ‘can we end epidemics?’ about the future of HIV science and the challenges we need to overcome on our journey to finding a cure. Listen

We hope these conversations and resources are helpful in your advocacy. Stay tuned for our upcoming advocates’ primer on lenacapavir and our roadmap to the AIDS 2024 conference in Munich.

Pride and a Transnational Anti-LGBTQ+ Reaction

For five decades LGBTQ+ communities and their allies have come together in June to celebrate Pride, to demand recognition of our human rights, and to honor Queer lives. It was movement that ignited out of a climate of fear and ignorance, one that de-humanized trans people and same-gender loving people and made possible their continual persecution.   

As we mark the 54th anniversary of the New York City Stonewall Uprising of 1969, we celebrate the diversity and resilience of LGBTQ+ communities around the world and we must call out the transnational anti-LGBTQ+ reaction that is propelling gay-hate legislation, systemic violations of human rights, and violence against Queer people in countries across Africa, Asia and the US.  

Read on for details on an important advocacy movement against the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Uganda, a new podcast capturing the highlights and personal story of one advocate’s work, and the work of a cross-country collaboration strengthening advocacy for key populations.  

New Report

UNWANTED, OUTLAWED AND ILLEGAL: THE CRY OF LGBTIQ+ UGANDANS

It’s been one year since the Ugandan legislature passed one of the most draconian gay-hate laws in the world, the Anti Homosexuality ACT (AHA), which has since been approved by a Ugandan court ruling, now on appeal. The AHA intensifies the criminalization of LGBTQ+ people, including up to life imprisonment for consensual same-sex conduct, and even the death penalty in certain circumstances. A new report by the Strategic Response Team (SRT), UNWANTED, OUTLAWED AND ILLEGAL: THE CRY OF LGBTIQ+ UGANDANS, documents evictions, arrests, imprisonment, forced anal exams, and community violence against LGBTQ+ people since the passage of AHA. 

New Podcast

PxPulse: The Advocacy Chronicles

In a new edition of PxPulse: The Advocacy Chronicles, Allan Mwasa of SMUG International in Uganda discusses the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA), rising violence against LGBTQ+ communities in Uganda, how advocates are organizing, and what allies can do now. A donation to SMUG supports the work of the Strategic Response Team documenting civil rights violations and intensifying persecution of LGBTQI+ Ugandans. Click here to donate to SMUG. 

On the Radar

The Key Population Trans National Collaboration (KP-TNC)

And follow the work of the Key Population Trans National Collaboration (KP-TNC), a cross country collaboration strengthening advocacy for key populations. Working in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zanzibar, the KP-TNC strengthens relationships between KP-led organizations and development partners, regional organizations, the African Union, PEPFAR, The Global Fund and country governments, and develops strategies to advance advocacy for global health equity at large, and for HIV prevention and treatment among key populations. 

This moment requires global solidarity to push back against the lies, prejudice and discrimination that imperil LGBTQ+ people everywhere. Here’s to a powerful Pride! 

Announcing the Next Class of Advocacy Navigators

We are thrilled to announce AVAC’s 3rd class of Advocacy Navigators! This group of 12 emerging advocates from nine countries was selected from 100s of interested applicants. They will be paired with six mentors, seasoned advocates who are alumni of AVAC’s Advocacy Fellows program. These mentors provide support and guidance as the Navigators strengthen and expand their skills in HIV prevention advocacy. 

Meet the 2024 Advocacy Navigators

Elizabeth Zahabu, Tanzania; Gcebile Yvette Dlamini, Eswatini; Jessica Booysen, South Africa; Joseph Robert Linda, Uganda; Nawanyaga Gloria, Uganda; Rita Nyaguthii Gatonye, Kenya; Renny Mulala, Zambia; Madalitso Juwayeyi, Malawi; Rumbidzai Munhanzi, Zimbabwe; Takunda Clement Chanetsa, Zimbabwe; Nicole Ondisa Oduya, Kenya; Sharon Ramantele, Botswana.

Following the model of the AVAC Advocacy Fellows program, Navigators tackle curated coursework, focused networking, and personalized mentorship over six months.

Meet the 2024 Mentors

Anna Miti, Zimbabwe; Chilufya Hampongo, Zambia; Cleopatra Makura, Zimbabwe; Eric Mcheka, Malawi; Dr. Lilian Benjamin Mwakyosi, Tanzania; Simon K’Ondiek, Kenya.

And a big congratulations to the graduating cohort of Advocacy Navigators who recently completed the 2023 program. Nine Navigators implemented new advocacy projects in their communities on the rollout of CAB for PrEP and DVR, meaningful engagement of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in HIV prevention, changing the age of consent, and advocacy for accessible HIV prevention for people with disabilities, sex workers and other key populations.

About the Advocacy Navigators Program

Since 2009 with the establishment of the AVAC Advocacy Fellows program, AVAC has recognized the imperative to support HIV prevention advocates with the knowledge and skills they desire. The Fellows Network represents a global movement of seasoned veterans and passionate newcomers, who call out neglect, insist on equity, monitor commitments and identify solutions. Now the Advocacy Navigator program, which is part of the Coalition to Accelerate & Support Prevention Research (CASPR), is leveraging the strength of this extraordinary program and its alumni community to expand and strengthen the network and continue to support and engage advocates for the long-term. 

The Advocacy Navigator program combines training and mentorship to young and emerging advocates in the field of HIV prevention advocacy. The program mobilizes a cohort of ambitious individuals and provides them with resources to build their knowledge, skills and confidence to meaningfully advance HIV prevention advocacy in their communities and countries. The program includes online coursework, personalized mentorship, and opportunities to directly apply learning through a community advocacy project. The program begins with three months of coursework and project development, followed by three months when advocates implement their plans. 

Keep up to date with this year’s Navigators and stay tuned for updates on their upcoming advocacy projects!

Tracking PrEP Rollout & Learning Lessons

Accelerating the rollout of the full range of proven HIV prevention options depends on learning from what’s been done in the past and investing in coordination and innovation to put improved solutions in place. The Biomedical Prevention Implementation Collaborative (BioPIC) is doing just that. Over the last two years, BioPIC—a project led by AVAC with support from the Gates Foundation—has been gathering and sharing evidence on these critical lessons to ensure the next generation of HIV prevention products reaches everyone who needs and wants them with much greater speed and equity.  

What We’re Learning—Highlights from 2024 Convenings

An ongoing series of think tanks, convened by BioPIC and WHO since 2021, are generating key insights for people-centered product delivery. Below, read the latest reports from these think tanks that are informing decision-making on priorities for accelerating access to PrEP. Go to the BioPIC’s page on PrEPWatch to find reports on all think tanks since 2021.  

  • Early Insights from EBONI and PILLAR, February 2024: Early insights from ViiV Healthcare, the manufacturer of CAB for PrEP, from two CAB for PrEP implementation studies, EBONI and PILLAR. Conducted by ViiV in the US, these are among the first studies gathering data in real-world settings. Learn more
  • Taking Stock of PrEP Evidence, March 2024: An analysis of current data and priority evidence gaps. This inquiry was not focused on any one PrEP product, and its findings are informing the focus of future think tanks. Learn more
  • Linking Modellers with the Latest Implementation Science Evidence, March 2024: A consideration of the latest modelling data and insights on injectable cabotegravir (CAB) for PrEP. Read about the biggest takeaways from CAB for PrEP modelling here, and learn more about the big questions that require further inquiry here
  • Discussing Early Results from the SEARCH Dynamic Choice Study, April 2024: Professor Moses Kamya of Makerere University shares early insights from the SEARCH Dynamic Choice Study in Kenya and Uganda, which gave participants a choice between oral PrEP, PEP, and CAB for PrEP, and analyzes the role of choice in PrEP coverage. Watch here
  • PrEP and the Role of HIV Self-Testing, May 23: Highlights from the WHO guidance on use of self-testing (HIVST) as an innovative way to increase PrEP access and coverage and further simplify PrEP delivery. Panelists also share experiences with procurement, costing, rollout and scale-up. Watch Here

As other new biomedical HIV prevention products roll out, BioPIC will continue to hold strategic convenings, identify and address evidence gaps, and work to accelerate equitable product introduction. To learn more efforts to coordinate the introduction of CAB for PrEP, check out the JIAS article Shaping and coordinating the implementation science agenda for injectable cabotegravir for PrEP: the role of the Biomedical Prevention Implementation Collaborative (BioPIC). To learn what’s needed to better coordinate rollout for not-yet-approved products in Phase III clinical trials, check out BioPIC’s Adaptable Product Introduction Framework. 

We hope you will book mark these resources, and stay up to date on findings from future think tanks and webinars in 2024 on the BioPIC page of PrEPWatch.

Will the Pandemic Accord Fail to Learn the Lessons of the HIV Response?

STOPAIDS, GNP+, WACI Health, AVAC & GFAN

In their statement at the 8th Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) meeting, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) highlighted that from the HIV experience we know that if public health measures do not take human rights into account, we will leave marginalised populations behind, fail to address structural barriers to access to quality healthcare, and miss essential interventions altogether.

At the final negotiation meeting of the Pandemic Accord, Member States risk failing to learn these key lessons from the HIV response. 

Over the last two years we’ve seen the limited references to human rights further reduced with each version of the proposed Pandemic Accord text. In the revised text published in April 2024, Member States propose the Agreement is guided by the principle of ‘full respect for the dignity, human rights, and fundamental freedoms of all persons, and the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health of every human being’. Beyond this, key provisions including the need to develop and implement policies to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of all people has been removed and the text fails to recognise or support the critical role of communities. 

Local communities are pivotal in advancing the HIV response, leveraging local knowledge to enhance policy execution, and reaching groups left behind by government-led responses.This is true in the HIV response, and is true in public health programs more broadly: participation from communities and civil society is crucial to minimise the gaps of public programs, ensuring that they reach all vulnerable populations, including the most marginalised. Engagement at the community level also ensures that large-scale policies are effectively translated for local contexts, reducing barriers to access and strengthening impact. To not include organisations that already have a plethora of expertise in the areas the Accord aims to help with would be irresponsible, and would be ineffective on behalf of the communities they aim to serve. The HIV response is globally recognised for its inclusion of communities in governance and decision-making and it is critical the Pandemic Accord replicates this inclusion in the implementation and governance of this instrument. 

At the final negotiation meeting, we must see Member States agree a Pandemic Accord that is grounded in human rights and supports the critical role of communities. We urge Member States to:

Download the full statement here.

More and More Evidence that Choice is the Key

AVAC convened three important conversations in the last month on new data that delivered the analysis and evidence that choice and equity in access to PrEP products can make the difference between real-world population-level impact or an epidemic marching on for many years to come.  

When taken together, their combined message is irrefutable: when programs offer people-centered choices for what type of PrEP product they want, and where and how to integrate it into their lives, incidence can drop to zero.  

Read on for highlights from the three conversations and links to resources and recordings.

Highlights and Resources

Early Results from the SEARCH Dynamic Choice Study

“This is the evidence we’ve all been waiting for. This is the first time in a community setting that we have scientific evidence that choice matters and choice works.” – AVAC Executive Director, Mitchell Warren

Professor Moses Kamya of Makerere University joined our webinar to discuss the early results of the Dynamic Choice study conducted in Kenya and Uganda by Sustainable East Africa Research in Community Health (SEARCH). First announced at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infection (CROI) in March, these data were among the most exciting of the conference.
 
SEARCH showcased what true choice and person-centered programming can mean – and the difference it makes. The study offered choices in products (PEP, oral PrEP, injectable cabotegravir); in testing (rapid and self-testing); in service locations (clinic, home, other community locations); timing of prescription for oral refills (up to three months); and the ability to switch products at any time. More than a quarter of the participants used two different products during the study. Many who selected injectable cabotegravir had used no form of prevention in the month before, and even oral PrEP use went up in the intervention arm. “It’s expanding the total pie of people using PrEP,” said Kamya. The result: The study arm ended with zero incidence of HIV compared to 1.8% in the control group. Adding to the method mix expands the number of people who continue with prevention—even as their needs change.

See resources and recording here.

We Can’t End HIV in the United States Without Equitable PrEP Access: Strategies for success

A collaboration between HIVMA, PrEP4All and The Choice Agenda, this webinar  looked closely at PrEP uptake in the US and the American system of PrEP delivery. As a case study, these presentations show what happens when programs, policies and political will undervalue choice.
 
Intensifying disparities is one of the most pernicious effects of inequitable access to PrEP as seen in US data. Dr. Patrick Sullivan of Emory University highlighted these disparities by sharing that Black people in the US represent 40% of new HIV diagnosis but only 14% of the PrEP users, while 64% of PrEP users are White but represent only 25% of new diagnoses. Sullivan’s research shows that when states make it easier to choose PrEP by offering PrEP drug assistance programs, Medicaid expansion or both, PrEP coverage goes up and incidence goes down.
 
Rupa Patel of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) charted the patchwork nature of PrEP delivery, which involves numerous and complex processes for getting HIV prevention products to people. Patel underscored the need in the US for interventions in programming and product choice, interventions that should offer the kind of choices that have been successfully delivered by the SEARCH study.
 
Patel’s description of an unpredictable, confusing and costly journey to PrEP was reinforced by a deep dive on cost offered by Dr. Lorraine Dean of Johns Hopkins University. Dean explored the role of cost, showing how even small increases drive down use. And she explained how insurers circumvent protections that require zero cost to the consumer for generic PrEP under the Affordable Care Act. And Jeremiah Johnson of PrEP4All laid out an agenda for change to be integrated into a US national PrEP program. Learn more with PrEP4All’s report, Toward PrEP Access for All.

See resources and recording here.

Evolving our Understanding of PrEP for Cisgender Women

NIAID Director Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo joined the Choice Agenda webinar, The More We Know: Evolving our understanding of PrEP for cisgender women, to present a re-assessment of the safety and effectiveness of PrEP options for women—including oral, vaginal ring, and injectable options. She discussed her recent publication in the Journal of the American Medical Association, HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis with Emtricitabine and Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate Among Cisgender Women. This study  provides reassuring evidence that oral PrEP can reliably prevent HIV infection in cisgender women— with data that show women taking 4-7 pills per week had very high protection against HIV, comparable to what is seen in cisgender men. The results challenge the notion that cisgender women need to be “super-adherers” to achieve protection utilizing oral PrEP and that a one-size-fits all approach to prevention will not work.

Raniyah Copeland of Equity & Impact Solutions who moderated, noted that Marrazzo’s comments represent a powerful voice among a chorus of champions for choice. She then introduced Joyce Ng’anga’a of WACI Health and the African Women’s HIV Prevention Community Accountability Board, a coalition of women and girls living and working in Africa who are united in calling for continued political and financial support for more choice in HIV prevention. Ng’anga’a updated on the recently launched Choice Manifesto. This global call to action demands investment in choice and calls for enshrining a woman’s right to choose and for African women and girls to lead the HIV response. 

See resources and recording here.

Additional Resources on PrEP Access and Choice

As the world marks twelve years since the FDA approved the first PrEP product, the field is long past due to make good on what advocates have been saying all along, and now the evidence is in hand. Make choice a reality and drive incidence to zero.

Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit and PrEP in Black America Summit

AVAC Highlights

Last week, 1,000+ community advocates, researchers, policy experts, federal public health leadership, medical and service providers from around the US and Puerto Rico attended the NMAC annual Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit in Seattle, Washington. The discussion and debate on PrEP access, especially for racial and ethnic minorities and key populations, PrEP research, care, policy and community-based programs are ones to follow. AVAC’s John Meade (Senior Program Manager, Policy), Jessica Salzwedel (Senior Program Manager: Research Engagement) and Kenyon Farrow (Communications Director) presented in workshops and satellite sessions at the Summit and at the PrEP in Black America preconference

The Summit included sessions that updated community advocates on the latest in biomedical research for new diagnostics, PrEP, PEP, STIs and vaccines. Meade co-presented a Clinical Trials 101 for community advocates to learn more about the research process. Farrow presented an epidemiological overview on HIV and Disparities in the United States for NMAC’s Gay Men of Color Fellows. 

AVAC’s John Meade Jr. and Danielle Campbell at the PrEP in Black America: The State of HIV Prevention Research in the Black Community pre-conference

All three AVAC staff contributed to the PrEP in Black America: The State of HIV Prevention Research in the Black Community pre-conference, organized by PrEP in Black America (PIBA). PIBA began in 2022 as a community-led effort to increase Black community mobilization and engagement in PrEP research, policy and access programs. Farrow and Meade are PIBA cofounders, and Meade facilitated the day’s agenda, with more than 200 attendees focused on identifying the research gaps that need to be addressed to increase knowledge, access and use of PrEP. Data shows that while Black people in the U.S. make up 42% of all new HIV diagnoses in 2021, they were only 14% of all PrEP users. By comparison, white Americans are 65% of all PrEP users, but only 26% of all people diagnosed with HIV in the same year.  

Salzwedel co-led the closing consensus session at PIBA, a discussion where attendees named research priorities to be later released as part of a National Black-Centered Biomedical HIV Prevention research agenda. One of the most important priorities named, however, goes beyond singling out the right research questions. Attendees showed strong consensus that the research process itself needs to change. Attendees expressed a need and desire for more investment and commitment to community-led research, that can reflect non-traditional ways of gathering data and designing trials and ending the extractive approach that characterizes conventional researcher/community relationships.  

To stay up to date with PrEP in Black America, follow them on Instagram and Facebook. 

Join AVAC, The Choice Agenda, PrEP4All and HIVMA on Friday, April 26 for a special follow-up webinar, We Can’t End HIV in the United States Without Equitable PrEP Access: Strategies for success. Register here.

Introducing Advocacy Chronicles: A new AVAC podcast takes you behind the scenes with leading advocates

AVAC is thrilled to announce our new PxPulse podcast series, The Advocacy Chronicles, featuring conversations with leading advocates who take us behind the scenes on critical issues at the forefront of global health equity. In each concise conversation, a leading advocacy champion will talk about a priority community issue they identified, the tactics they used to address it, and the wins and outcomes they achieved.   

Our debut episode of PxPulse: The Advocacy Chronicles is with Yvette Raphael, the Executive Director of Advocacy for Prevention of HIV and AIDS (APHA), and one of South Africa’s leading human rights activists. Yvette co-chairs the African Women Prevention Community Accountability Board (AWPCAB), which launched The HIV Prevention Choice Manifesto in September 2023. Yvette discusses the manifesto – a global call, developed and implemented through support from the CASPR project, for increased political and financial commitment to ensure every proven method of HIV prevention is integrated into the HIV response. She lays out why The Choice Manifesto matters, how advocates are leveraging it, and what tactics will advance its priorities.  

Find the full episode here. Follow The Advocacy Chronicles on PxPulse to hear about the issues that advocates are taking on to advance HIV prevention and what they are learning in the process. Upcoming episodes will feature champions behind campaigns to decriminalize sex work; new advocate-created platforms for ongoing engagement between government and young women; successful efforts to set targets and secure funding from PEPFAR; advocacy to challenge anti-gay hate laws and protect communities of key populations, and more!  

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to catch every episode! 

Save the Date!

Discussing Early Results from the SEARCH Dynamic Choice Study

Join AVAC and SEARCH in conversation with Professor Moses Kamya of Makerere University to find out why the early results of the SEARCH Dynamic Choice study were some of the most exciting news to come out of the CROI meeting in 2024. The webinar will consist of a presentation by Professor Kamya, followed by a robust discussion about the role of choice in HIV prevention.

Register Here!

AVAC’s Samantha Rick Delivers Statement During High-level US HHS Meeting

AVAC’s Samantha Rick delivered a statement during a high-level US HHS meeting on Thursday, April 11. Read the full statement below.

“I am speaking as a representative of AVAC, an international non-profit organization that leverages global partnerships to accelerate ethical development and equitable delivery of effective HIV prevention options, as part of a comprehensive and integrated pathway to global health equity.

Without civil society having access to the proceedings, it is difficult for civil society to advocate around their own government’s positions. We urge the US to continue to push for civil society access, both to deliberations and to compilation text, so that we can effectively do our jobs and ensure that government priorities incorporate advocates’.

Without such access, we have come to some conclusions through hearsay and leaked documents, which is not ideal. One seemingly bright spot is the status of Article 9. From the most recently leaked version of the text including Member State textual edits from late March, it appears there is some consensus about what is to be included in Article 9, and little objection from the US on these points. We urge the US to push to keep the text in Article 9 as-is, particularly the provision to include access conditions in publicly-funded R&D for pandemic products. We look forward to discussing with the Administration how we can get to a place where this is standard operating procedure for all public funding regardless of its applicability to pandemics, as R&D usually builds on previous work and we may not know of a hypothetical product’s use in a pandemic situation.

A particularly dark spot in the negotiations is Article 12. From the leaked version from late March, it is clear that the US position on the pathogen access and benefits sharing system has significantly shifted. This has raised the ire of civil society advocates around the world and within the US. It is unclear why the negotiations have come this far without this level of disagreement from the US, as we had not seen nearly as many or as all-consuming edits in previous versions of the text that included the same provisions. The US must come to a position of negotiation on this topic – the Africa Group and Group for Equity, among others, have clearly stated that they will not accept lesser commitments to benefits sharing than to those required by the US around pathogen data sharing. This is a perfectly reasonable position. We implore the US to rethink its position on the PABS system and try to come up with a palatable system that has equal levels of commitments from both sectors of the system.”