March 23, 2026
From spotlighting the impact of US-supported HIV research to advancing the future of the HIV response; accelerating pediatric HIV cure research to shaping the global STI agenda, AVAC is driving and tracking the critical conversations defining HIV prevention and advocacy. Read on for this week’s resources and perspectives.
“International research is not an optional ‘add-on’ to the US HIV effort—it is a foundational engine of innovation, testing, and learning and it provides the scaffolding for creating a cascade of benefits for HIV management in the US and for research beyond HIV,” write University of California, San Francisco’s Judith Auerbach, Duke Global Health Institute’s Jirair Ratevosian and AVAC’s Mitchell Warren in a new Health Affairs piece. The authors highlight how US-supported international HIV research—particularly in African countries— delivers direct benefits to Americans, and why cuts to that research may undermine those benefits.
Practical Considerations for Pediatric Cure Research
AVAC Senior Program Manager Jessica Salzwedel joins leading HIV cure researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine on a new podcast discussing a recent publication on the ethics of pediatric HIV cure research, HIV Cure Research: Ethical and Real-World Practical Considerations for Pediatric and Adolescent Populations in the Journal of Pediatric Infectious Disease Society. The episode covers work born out of the PAVE Collaboratory, the only NIH-funded HIV cure research consortium focused on perinatal HIV. Learn more about AVAC’s broader cure portfolio.
AVAC and Access Bridge Join Kenya Health Integration Summit 2026
At the Kenya Health Integration Summit, AVAC and its partner Access Bridge shared key insights on strategies to support KP integration and PrEP rollout, and strengthening people-centered health systems—underscoring the critical role of advocates and communities in driving progress. Together, AVAC and Access Bridge work to ensure effective scale-up of new prevention options while safeguarding equitable access for all populations amid a volatile funding landscape.
AVAC at AIDSWatch 2026 and SYNChronicity 2026
John Meade, AVAC Senior Program Manager for Policy, took the stage as a plenary speaker at AIDSWatch this week, where more than 600 advocates converged to push US Congress to support HIV research and programs. “The same forces dismantling PEPFAR and expanding the Global Gag Rule are also attacking LGBTQ+ people, public health and bodily autonomy here in the US,” said John, calling for coordination across domestic and global HIV advocacy movements.
Also this week, AVAC Executive Director Mitchell Warren joined Congressman Herb Conaway, Judith Feinberg, Greg Millett, and JD Davids at the SYNChronicity conference for an important discussion on What’s New & Next in the HIV/AIDS Response. Slides from his presentation are available.
AVAC’s Alison Footman to Co-Chair the 2026 STI Prevention Conference
Mark your calendars for the 2026 STI Prevention Conference in Atlanta from August 31-September 2. AVAC’s Senior Program manager, Alison Footman, who leads our STI program is co-chairing the meeting with Barbara Van Der Pol of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. At a critical moment for STI advocacy, this convening is designed to spark conversations and collaboration about prioritizing prevention strategies, service delivery models, research and policy approaches that are responsive to community needs as funding remains precarious.
Other Must See Resources From This Week
- Putting Communities First in HIV Research with Yvette Raphael — Global Health Unfiltered podcast
- CAB-LA: The prevention jab that never had its moment, and what it leaves behind as LEN arrives — Bhekisisa article by Ida Jooste
- Speeding Up Access to PrEP — AVAC infographic charting the time from efficacy results to key milestones for injectable LEN and CAB, the DVR and oral PrEP
- Gilead Could Potentially End HIV. But Will It Be Able To? — PharmaVoice
- 180,000 Infections in 2024, 47,000 by 2045 — If SA rolls out the twice-a-year HIV prevention jab fast enough — Bhekisisa