HIV R4P is the world’s first global scientific meeting dedicated exclusively to biomedical HIV prevention research. The conference is expected to bring 1,200 to 1,500 research, program development and policy leaders to Cape Town, South Africa, 28-31 October 2014. Preliminary program at: http://hivr4p.org/program/scientific-program.

From February 11-13 more than 80 advocates from throughout sub-Saharan Africa gathered in Harare, Zimbabwe, for AVAC’s Advocacy Partners’ Forum, an annual event to take stock of recent developments in HIV prevention research and implementation and to develop a strategy for the coming year.

Highlights of this year’s Forum included plenary presentations on Kenya’s “Prevention Revolution Roadmap”—one example of how a country is structuring its approach to high-impact prevention; a review of the questions surrounding hormonal contraceptives and HIV risk; and energetic small-group discussions on the many steps on the “research-to-rollout” continuum.

Key interventions discussed included voluntary medical male circumcision and non-surgical devices, PrEP, microbicides, vaccines and treatment as prevention. Participants spent a portion of the final day planning for various scenarios that could emerge from the ongoing trials of microbicides, including 1% tenofovir gel, and the dapivirine ring.

Our partners truly shone throughout the three-day meeting. In addition to delivering plenaries and facilitating sessions, each day started with partners’ short talks in a session called, “Good morning, here’s what keeps me up at night…”, a concept inspired by the TED Talk model. One of the talks from this series is reproduced below.

Throughout the Forum, participants emphasized the importance of comprehensive and authentic civil society engagement. AVAC is working with partners through a new “strategic initiatives” effort that seeks to link interested individuals in short, focused advocacy efforts to respond to key emerging issues. If you’d like to take part or learn more, email us—and you don’t need to have attended the Forum to join in.

To learn more about the issues, check out AVAC’s Research & Reality webinar series, which is a year-long dialogue about key issues facing biomedical prevention advocacy today.

The following piece is adapted from a presentation given at the AVAC Partners’ Forum by Mannasseh Phiri, a columnist for Zambia’s Sunday Post and long-time HIV prevention advocate.

Several things really! First, at least one night every week I’m awake thinking which 1,000 words to write in my HIV/AIDS weekly newspaper column—before my deadline.

Secondly, elephants! The elephant in the room (that has brought us all together here in this forum!) is HIV—still consuming huge amounts of resources: financial, human, time, etc. There is a proverb from the eastern part of Zambia that says, “When ants are organized, they can kill an elephant”. I lie awake wondering why we, the ants in this room, are not well organized to fight this elephant that is HIV. Why do we in our countries do things differently from (and often without knowledge of) each other’s actions? Why for example is it that MSM/HIV research is permitted in Uganda, Kenya and Malawi where there are similar “colonial” laws criminalizing homosexuality to Zambia’s—where such research is not permitted?

In the Democratic Republic of Congo they have a nice Lingala proverb that says, “A dog has four legs but it only walks in one direction”. How many different directions are we walking as Africans—in HIV/AIDS prevention, research regulation, gay rights, etc?

The good people of Ghana have another proverb I like: “Like a turtle, a man should stick his neck out if he wants to go forward”. As advocates and activists we often must stick our neck out particularly on “sticky” issues. I recently had to go into hiding because I spoke out about homosexuality, MSM and HIV—and sections of Zambian society called for my arrest!

As for Uganda, I am even more confused now after hearing my long-time friend and activist Ruhakana Rugunda say that people of different sexual orientations should feel free to access health services without fear of discrimination! I am still looking for an appropriate African proverb for him and Uganda!

Finally, my five-year-old grandson Nicholas keeps me awake. Nicholas asks a lot of searching questions of me all the time. All of us have a Nicholas in our lives—young, inquisitive, innocent and searching for answers. I look at Nicholas’ eyes and I see him asking me “Koko! What kind of Zambia, Africa and world are you preparing today for my future? What if I am gay?” Look at and listen to your own Nicholas asking you tough questions and you will stay up at night too!

It’s been five years since we announced the first class of talented advocates in the AVAC Advocacy Fellowship Program—and in February, AVAC was thrilled to welcome seven new Fellows. These individuals joined the outgoing 2013 Fellows in Harare, Zimbabwe, for a joint wrap-up and orientation Fellows Workshop.

This meeting, held in tandem with the annual AVAC Partners’ Forum, provided updates on issues across the field of HIV prevention and opportunities for capacity building.

The 2014 Fellows plan to tackle a range of issues, including male circumcision implementation in South Africa, women’s prevention research advocacy in Kenya and PrEP introduction in Uganda. For more detail and for the full list of planned Fellowship projects click here. At the Workshop, incoming Fellows heard feedback from peers, alumni Fellows and other colleagues—including advice such as the importance of coalition-building and collaborating, being persistent with government officials and developing talking points for conversations with journalists.

The Fellows Workshop was also a venue for 2013 Fellows to reflect on their accomplishments over the past 12 months, strategize to cement their gains individually and as a group and continue to impact the HIV/AIDS epidemics in their countries and regions. The 2013 Fellows were presented with awards at a reception to celebrate their accomplishments this past year. Videos of each Fellow summarizing his or her project are available on our YouTube page.

Purpose: To support highly innovative research projects that address a biomedical or behavioral issue relevant to HIV and drug abuse and/or lead to new avenues of research or new interventions for prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS among substance abusers. Open to  individual researchers and research teams; not limited to any one area of research on HIV and substance use. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DA-15-005.html

IAPAC, in partnership with the British HIV Association (BHIVA), will host a second evidence summit in London, UK, featuring the presentation of data related to and discussion about the implementation of treatment as prevention (TasP) and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in various clinical settings.

Stepping up the Pace has been selected as the theme for AIDS 2014, the upcoming 20th International AIDS Conference, to be held in Melbourne, Australia, from 20-25 July 2014.

On January 7, 2014, the IOM will host a workshop to share insights gained from the conduct of recent evaluations of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; the US President’s Malaria Initiative; the Affordable Medicines Facility-Malaria; and other large-scale global initiatives.

On January 7, 2014, the IOM will host a workshop to share insights gained from the conduct of recent evaluations of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; the US President’s Malaria Initiative; the Affordable Medicines Facility-Malaria; and other large-scale global initiatives.