Today, Ambassador Deborah Birx announced that she would be retiring from leadership of the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). She also announced that her deputy coordinator, Angeli Achrekar, will be the acting US Global AIDS Coordinator. In this week of political transition—Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th United States President tomorrow—AVAC marks Ambassador Birx’s departure with gratitude and a call to future action for PEPFAR and the new administration.

Under Ambassador Birx’s leadership over the past seven years, PEPFAR took critical steps to harness efficiencies in the program, increase transparency in data and ensure robust civil society engagement in planning and monitoring at country and global levels. These steps made the program stronger and delivered significant impact. AVAC and our partners have changed programs, policies and performance through data-driven demands often focused on PEPFAR.

AVAC looks forward to continuing our work to ensure that PEPFAR remains committed to data use, transparency and civil society engagement. Ensuring the continuation and expansion of PEPFAR is just one component of the robust US global health agenda needed to address COVID-19, build pandemic preparedness and drive towards epidemic control of HIV.

Last week, the Biden-Harris Administration announced plans for a US$11 billion global health investment and two health-focused positions on the National Security Council, as well as the appointment of human rights advocate and former US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power as the next head of USAID. These are critical positions at a time of enormous consequences, and AVAC looks forward to helping to define an agenda that encompasses health security for all. Specifically, we look to the Biden-Harris Administration to:

• Act quickly to rejoin WHO and voice strong support for a US$4 billion contribution to the Global Fund and US$1 billion to PEPFAR. These multilateral and bilateral mechanisms have played a key role in getting funds to countries to strengthen and set up national pandemic responses; as COVID-19 cases creep up in sub-Saharan Africa and surge in many parts of the world, this emergency funding mechanism is out of funds. Failing to support countries shoring up their health systems, including surveillance, testing, treatment and vaccination systems, will prolong the pandemic globally and will lead to erosion of hard-fought past gains against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.
• Sustain and expand support for PEPFAR. Prior to COVID-19, this singular American global health effort had helped drive rates of new HIV infections down by 40-50 percent in many of the countries where it worked. Its use of data, transparency about targets and results, focus on achieving epidemic control, and robust engagement with civil society based in the US and in the countries where it operated must continue. We look to the Biden Administration to ensure strong leadership of the program, which must stay in the State Department, with an empowered US Global AIDS ambassador, and a clear mandate from the White House to continue the critical work of AIDS treatment, prevention and care.
• Move swiftly on innovative, integrated, long-overdue restructuring of the US approach to global health and health security that coordinates and links investments in ongoing and point-in-time pandemics, and ensures preparedness for biowarfare attacks. Now is the time to develop a truly comprehensive health security agenda that clearly connects American investment in ongoing pandemics like HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, investments in preparedness and prevention of emergent pandemics like Ebola and COVID-19, and broad, country-driven investments like the Global Fund. A single coordinator of this effort, based at the White House and working closely across agencies and disease areas will be able to leverage the enormous expertise and assets of the US global health portfolio. This will help to ensure that the HIV-specific response not only succeeds at supporting countries to reach epidemic control, but also helps build the community-level trust in health systems, surveillance and laboratory capacity, and medications supply chains that will help prevent the next pandemic.

AVAC thanks Ambassador Birx for her service, and we look forward to working with the new administration in 2021 and beyond.

HIV R4P Virtual is coming right up, with events starting January 26th rolling through February 4th—don’t miss it. Held every two years, the HIV Research for Prevention Conference (R4P) is the only global conference focused exclusively on biomedical HIV prevention.

This year’s content will help set the stage for the high-stakes year ahead. Get started at the Advocates Pre-conference (click to register) on Tuesday, January 26th. Watch for AVAC’s updates from the meeting on social media and the Advocates’ Network, and bookmark AVAC’s R4P webpage so you can follow along.

The stakes are high for many reasons. COVID-19 is claiming lives across the globe, disrupting health care services and slowing the pace of HIV prevention and treatment research. At the same time, there are unprecedented opportunities to deliver both COVID-19 vaccines and new and emerging HIV prevention strategies. This virtual gathering, which includes access to the IAS COVID-19 Prevention Conference on February 2nd, is a chance to hear the latest data and explore the opportunities and challenges for research and rollout that lie ahead, including:

• Lessons from oral PrEP programs—and how they could accelerate the introduction of new long-acting options, like the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring and injectable cabotegravir.
• The latest research findings from interventions moving through the pipeline, such as the Antibody Mediated Prevention trials of a broadly neutralizing antibody, new forms of long-acting injectable and oral PrEP.
• The implementation science required to translate promising options into real choices and real impact.
• The innovations in new trial designs in the midst of PrEP rollout.
• The ongoing challenge to develop an HIV vaccine, an essential component to finally ending the epidemic.

And that’s just for starters… click here for our program at a glance to see what’s planned. In the coming days, watch this space and AVAC’s R4P page for a more detailed roadmap to guide you through the ins and outs of the conference at large; a rich program at the Advocates’ Corner; and in-depth details on conference highlights and featured sessions.

The Protecting Global Gains series kicks off 2021 with a story about the motivated and resourceful advocates in Bangladesh who not only safeguarded essential family planning services against the disruptions of COVID-19 but also maximized the impacts of domestic investment. Read on for the latest edition of Protecting Global Gains: Bangladeshi activists help sustain access to family planning services.

In April 2020, the Guttmacher Institute released dire estimates on how COVID-19 is affecting sexual and reproductive health services. Estimates showed that the compounding ramifications of national lockdowns, economic losses, disrupted supply chains, and repurposed health personnel could lead to as many as 15 million annual unintended pregnancies in low- and middle-income countries. Sexual and reproductive health services in Bangladesh experienced some of these challenges—especially as personal protective equipment (PPE) was allocated to staff providing essential health services only.

Advocacy groups and local governments in Bangladesh took action in response to this sexual and reproductive health emergency. Learn about how two Bangladeshi NGOs, Marie Stopes Bangladesh and Shushilan, through the Advance Family Planning initiative, worked with local government to stave off feared setbacks in reproductive and sexual health in the latest story on protectingglobalgains.org, Bangladeshi activists help sustain access to family planning services.

Whether it’s resuming polio vaccinations in remote areas of Pakistan, introducing smarter ways to distribute bed nets in Benin, or safeguarding reproductive health in Bangladesh, community ownership and local innovation have been key to building flexible and resilient health systems and staving off the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Follow the Protecting Global Gains series on social media at @hivpxresearch, @theglobalfight, @Amref_Worldwide and #ProtectingGlobalGains, and consider amplifying these stories on your own social media. Advocates can pressure governments to honor their commitments to family planning services and for continued national and global investment in efforts to minimize the toll of COVID-19 on sexual and reproductive health. Visit www.protectingglobalgains.org to learn more about how to take action.

2020 was, by any measure, a difficult year. A year ago, a pandemic with the magnitude of COVID-19 was, for many, unimaginable. At AVAC, we have sought to respond to all of the events of 2020, from the COVID pandemic to the ongoing fight for racial justice and free and fair elections in so many countries, including the United States. We are proud to work with partners who share and strengthen our commitment to secure long-term gains in HIV, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and equitable access to health with a social justice lens.

In this first week of the New Year, we at AVAC are committing to continue and expand this work. We make this commitment against a backdrop of an escalating pandemic, of inequities in COVID-19 vaccine access, and of continued stress on health systems that are leaving millions around the globe at risk from other health issues. And we make this commitment during a time of division, dishonesty, insurrection and hatred in the United States—all instigated and incited by a delusional president, aided and abetted by people who were meant to be public servants, but who have clearly abdicated their stated commitments to democracy.

The world watched the events of January 6th in Washington, DC, with shock and horror. AVAC’s US-based staff are grateful for the many messages of concern and solidarity from friends and partners around the world. We don’t know what will happen with the US government in the coming days, but are confident that on January 20th, a new administration will take office. And we celebrate the results from two free and fair Georgia Senate races, delivered in the face of manipulation, fear and intimidation.

AVAC looks forward to engaging with the incoming Biden-Harris Administration to ensure more equitable US domestic and global health policies. We will do this as part of our continued work with partners across the globe.

Twenty-five years ago, a group of activists came together to form AVAC in the face of another pandemic and in the certainty that a small group of committed people could call out governments and other institutions for their inadequate and unjust responses. Today we stand on their shoulders and side by side with advocates around the globe calling for health equity, justice and human rights.

As we look to the future, we welcome your thoughts and ideas for our joint work in the year to come.

Do you know a courageous and inspiring young activist, advocate or community engagement worker who impressed and inspired you in 2020? Someone who innovated to ensure that research continued safely despite COVID-19? Someone who advocated to ensure that HIV treatment, care and prevention did not stop? Someone who shone a light on human rights violations, or who demanded that community voices help shape the response? Consider nominating them for this award! Submission deadline is January 4. Learn more at www.avac.org/falobi.

As 2020 comes to an end, we hope this finds you in a place that allows for rest, rejuvenation and reflection. In a profoundly challenging year, we at AVAC draw strength from all of our allies and partners and have a renewed sense of gratitude—for the dynamic leadership of civil society, for the power and promise of scientific inquiry, for evidence-based decisions, and for voters who support democratic principles. We know 2021 will bring new challenges, new choices and new clarity. And now more than ever, we need to be strong, prepared and resilient.

In a world turned upside down by another global pandemic and economic recession, and with support from all of you, we have seen how essential it is for advocacy and health systems to ensure we protect global gains against HIV and other health threats, even as COVID-19 disrupted supply chains and access to care.

We have joined our partners in an extraordinary effort, engaging researchers, regulators and communities to build a global response to COVID-19 based on equity and to build a movement for pandemic preparedness.

And, in the midst of it all, we have witnessed landmark strides in the development of additional HIV prevention options.

This resilience must deepen and expand in 2021—COVID-19, HIV, siloed-responses, vaccine nationalism and inequitable access are not over, far from it. In the days to come, we at AVAC hope you will rest, rejuvenate and prepare, because in 2021 the world will need your fierce voices and actions more than ever.

To help prepare, we’ve gathered below AVAC resources to support our collective work in 2021. And to help us, if you can, please consider a contribution to keep this work moving by visiting www.avac.org/donate.

Reading and Resources for the Holidays and Beyond:

• For a quick, sharp take on where HIV prevention advocacy is headed in 2021, read AVAC’s Dear World letter.
• Listen to CAB-LA is Highly Effective; Now what, our latest Px Pulse podcast exploring the early results from trials testing cabotegravir as a long-acting injectable PrEP. The podcast also takes up what comes next in planning for the rollout of CAB-LA alongside oral PrEP and the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring. And check out a host of resources on the dedicated CAB-LA page.
• Listen to A Leap Forward For The Dapivirine Vaginal Ring, the Next Steps Are Critical, our podcast featuring five perspectives in on next steps for the ring. For a deeper dive, check out Understanding the EMA Opinion and Next Steps for the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring.
• Check out new resources on Antibody-Related Research, particularly Amp-ticipation: Context and concepts for understanding the AMP Trials, a blog by AVAC co-founder Bill Snow.
• Designing a New Generation of Prevention Efficacy Trials, also by Bill Snow, lays out basic concepts in innovations in trial design and an analysis of the implications for advocacy.
• Women and Girls at the Center is a joint initiative between AVAC and FP2020 and features resources to champion the integration of sexual and reproductive health with HIV prevention and treatment. Download a webinar, One Year After ECHO: Innovation in the time of COVID, and find links to a host of resources to inform your advocacy.
• A Dynamic New Global PrEP Tracker provides a whole new way to visualize and explore the data from our Global PrEP Tracker, a database that documents oral PrEP uptake around the world.
• Advocate’s Guide To COVID-19 Vaccine Access is a plain-language guide on the necessary components for equitable access to a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Cheat Sheet: COVID-19 Vaccine Pipeline provides an at-a-glance view of the funders, platforms, research phase and considerations for some of the front-runner candidates.
• Protecting Global Gains is a partnership of Amref Health Africa, AVAC, and Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, TB and Malaria that documents innovative solutions to the impact of COVID-19 on health programs all over the world.
• Why exciting results from vaccine research are just the beginning of efforts to end COVID-19, a Devex op-ed, written by AVAC’s Mitchell Warren, focuses on lessons from HIV to ensure effective COVID-19 vaccine becomes accessible to the people who need it.
• For our last word in 2020, we invite advocates, activists, supporters, allies and friends to share in our celebration of two remarkable achievements this year: AVAC’s 25th year as a champion for HIV prevention research, and the 10th year of AVAC’s extraordinary Fellows Program. Click through to see a timeline of growth and impact for AVAC at large, and explore this report to learn more about the strength and reach of the Fellows Program.

There will be no issue for the next two weeks. The NewsDigest will return on January 8, 2021. Our best wishes for happy holidays and a peaceful new year, and our thanks for reading!

At a time when staying connected and learning from one another at a distance is more important than ever, AVAC is excited to announce a new online platform for peer-to-peer resource sharing, collaborative learning and joint strategy development called Engage.

The Engage platform offers:

Free Online Courses

A number of courses, both self-guided and facilitated, are available on the site, including:

• Strengthening Stakeholder Engagement Through Ethics Review – HIV Prevention – A self-guided, interactive course rooted in ethics guidelines that provides an overview of the core practices and features of “engaged” clinical trials.
• Data Training for Advocacy – A facilitated course designed to build and strengthen the collection, analysis and use of data as part of advocacy efforts. (The next offering will begin in Q1 2021.)
• Good Participatory Practice Online Training Course – A facilitated training designed to help site-level implementers and advocates understand and translate the guidelines into practice. (The next offering will begin in Q1 2021.)

Network Spaces

These online spaces allow you to connect with experts, find and post resources, and contribute to conversations with your peers in forums organized around a central theme. Check out spaces like the Research Literacy Networking Zone for information on the HIV research pipeline. Watch that space for pop-up conversations hosted around the HIV R4P conference in early 2021!

Webinars

Group leaders organize pop-up conversations and webinars with experts relevant to the news of the day and emerging themes. Check out two of the recent offerings below:

• Heidi Larson and Charles Wiysonge discussed the challenges of rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine in the context of growing vaccine hesitancy. In a session moderated by Tian Johnson of the Vaccine Advocacy Resource Group, these experts discussed potential strategies for advocates and community engagement practitioners to respond.
• Rena Janamnuaysook led a webinar for the Stakeholder Engagement Community of Practice on the Tangerine Clinic in Thailand, a full service transgender health and HIV prevention clinic. Janamnuaysook discussed how the clinic has shifted services during COVID-19 research and what new models (PrEP home delivery by motorbike) they are considering keeping long-term.

We are always adding new materials and resources, including a suite of new courses planned for release in 2021. If an essential group or resource is missing, let us know. Engage is a platform for all and we welcome your ideas for improvements and leadership on the platform!

Register for your free account today!

AVAC’s Advocacy Fellows Program is celebrating 10 years of fostering the development and expansion of a network of deeply informed, skilled and courageous HIV prevention advocates. Since its launch in 2009, 77 Fellows from 14 countries have participated in the Fellows program. They have changed policy, championed community perspectives, strengthened healthcare systems, demystified HIV prevention research, and insisted on fairness and transparency, acting locally, regionally and globally.

On the program’s 10th anniversary, we hope you’ll join us in celebrating this milestone. We want to take a moment to share our thanks and our plans for the program’s future.

To the 77 Advocacy Fellows, thank you for your passion, your effort, your accomplishments, and for trusting the program and the team to support you in moving the dial.

To the 67 hosting organizations, thank you for putting faith in the program and offering steadfast support and mentorship to a generation of HIV prevention advocates and activists who are making the world better one advocacy demand at a time.

And thank you to all the stakeholders who have partnered with AVAC Fellows on project after project since 2009.

Fellows Program: Into the next decade

AVAC is proud to share a final report from an independent evaluation of the program, based on interviews and surveys from alumni, hosting organizations and external stakeholders. The evaluation assessed the program’s impact and contributions—both intended and unintended—on the Fellows, the issues they worked on and the communities they serve.

The report found, “The Advocacy Fellows Program is beneficial to participants, and has durable impacts on the Fellow, both personally and professionally. By influencing the Fellow at a personal level, the Fellowship contributes to changes in the HIV landscape at organizational, community and national levels. The Fellowship Program therefore remains relevant in all countries of operation but should take on certain recommendations in order to build on the significant gains already evidenced and increase its effectiveness in each context.” Alumni are leaders and change-agents in all the spaces they work in—influencing processes and policies, ensuring community voices are amplified, and transforming HIV prevention in their communities.

We are excited to build on these recommendations and expand on the success of the program. Alumni and host organizations will join AVAC in a series of working groups in early 2021 to help shape Fellows 2.0.

The Fellows Program has a new look on the AVAC website

To commemorate the program’s 10th anniversary, the Fellows page on AVAC.org has a new look and new resources. Check out the video featuring Fellows Alumni and don’t miss the new section “Where Are They Now?”, showcasing their significant and ongoing contributions in HIV advocacy. Please let us know what you think and help celebrate the Alumni network. Share your thoughts on the Fellows Program with #AVACFellows on social media platforms and @HIVpxresearch on Twitter.

Update on the 2020 Fellows

The 2020 cadre of Fellows began their fellowship year right as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, affecting communities across the world, even as critical issues continued to demand action in HIV prevention. The Fellows adapted and innovated—despite uncertainty, delays and losses—and rose to the challenge. Please read more about the 2020 Fellows and the strides they have been making. In light of these extraordinary times, the 2020 Fellowship year is being extended and the call for the next cadre of Fellows will be announced in 2021.

At AVAC, we know the voices from the first decade of AVAC Fellows, and the ones to come, are crucial. They push the field at large and engage their communities directly. In every corner of the field, they play a leading role in the essential work of accelerating ethical research and equitable access in the context of transparency and accountability so that HIV interventions have real impact by reaching those who need them most.

We hope you’ll join us in celebrating the work of these Fellows and keep watching for the great work to come!