IAS Science 2023 Conference: What you need to know

The 12th annual conference of the International AIDS Society (IAS) on HIV science takes place July 23–26 in Brisbane, Australia, and virtually. This year’s conference will offer the latest on vaccine and cure science, research updates on broadly neutralizing antibodies, important discussions on trial design in the era of PrEP, the potential of community-led models of care and the importance of integrating services for HIV and sexual and reproductive health (SRH). AVAC and partners will be there! Read on for an overview.

Just ahead of the conference, UNAIDS released their annual state of the epidemic report, The Path that Ends AIDS. The report charts a path that can end AIDS, and documents important progress, but challenges remain. Among them, global resources for HIV are marking another year of decline. With anti-LGTBQIA+ legal actions increasing in the US and in several African countries and reduced resources, efforts to end the epidemic will fail. See AVAC’s new graphic on the issue.

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IAS Resources

  • Use AVAC’s Roadmap to find sessions where prevention, pandemic preparedness and the larger issues of global health equity are in the spotlight. You can download it as a sortable spreadsheet or PDF.
  • Follow events in real time, AVAC will offer comments and updates on Twitter, and our friends at NAM/AIDSMAP will be reporting throughout the conference. Join the conversation using the conference hashtag #IAS2023.

Satellites, Sessions and Panels Featuring AVAC and Partners

All times listed are local in Brisbane, Australia. Click for a time zone converter.

Sunday, July 23

Tuesday, July 25

Wednesday, July 26

Poster Presentations

  • No Data No More: A tool to end the exclusion of trans and gender-diverse people in HIV research
  • Raising New Voices in HIV Cure Research: A review of an advocacy-for-cure academy and grant program
  • The Value of Measuring Outcomes of HIV Advocacy: Utilising a novel and participatory approach for advocacy evaluation
  • HIV Prevention Research & Development Investments 2001-2021: Shifting investment priorities fund innovation in a challenging global health landscape
  • Revolution of Transgender Health Programming: The role of transgender activists in Health programming for Malawi

While many will be gathering in Australia for the IAS conference, the 27th International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research (ISSTDR) is happening in Chicago at the same time – and AVAC will be there, too. Stay tuned for an update later this week for AVAC’s STI Roadmap and dedicated STI conference page. Advocates, implementers and researchers in both fields have much work to do together.

STI & HIV World Congress Kicks Off July 24

Follow The Conversation!

Next week, the STI & HIV World Congress (also known as ISSTDR) kicks off in Chicago, Illinois, USA and AVAC will be there. This is the first major face-to-face meeting of STI & HIV professionals since 2019 and one of the only spaces the global STI community comes together to promote ongoing STI research efforts and exchange information on current investigations. This is also the first time AVAC is attending ISSTDR in hopes of expanding STI advocacy and community engagement.

STI & HIV World Congress Resources

Use AVAC’s Roadmap to find sessions where prevention, pandemic preparedness and the larger issues of global health equity are in the spotlight. You can download it as a sortable spreadsheet or PDF. The full conference program is also available.

Follow events in real time with the official hashtag, #ISSTDR2023, AVAC will offer comments and updates on Twitter.

Visit STIWatch.org, our updated and expanded online resource for the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) community to better understand and advocate for STI vaccine and diagnostics research, development and rollout.

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STI & HIV World Congress 2023 Highlights

Check out some AVAC-featured sessions below.

The STI Prevention Pipeline: Where Are We, and What Will It Take to Move Forward Faster?
Monday, July 24 11am–2pm in the Mayfair Room
Join us to explore the current development and implementation stages of STI vaccines and diagnostics and identify ways to accelerate research through advocacy.

Symposium: New Vaccine Approaches to STI Prevention STI Vaccine Acceptance and Equity
Tuesday, July 25 2:30pm-4:00pm at Chicago 6
Join AVAC’s Alison Footman to dive into the topic of STI vaccines and equity as new interventions come into reach.

Setting Up a Remote/Home Testing STI Programme: A Practical Toolkit
Tuesday, July 25 2:30pm-4:00pm in Sheraton IV/V
Join us to explore the power of remote testing to affordably curb STI acquisitions.

Community Happy Hour
Monday, July 24, 6:00pm-8:00pm at Lizzie McNeill’s
Join AVAC and partners for a no frills happy hour for the STI community. All are welcome!

ISSTDR Advocacy Zone
Tuesday, July 25 to Thursday, July 27 in the Exhibit Hall
Visit the Advocacy Zone, a space to ask important questions, connect with fellow STI advocates, and begin to chart next steps in advancing STI R&D.

The Latest Resources From AVAC

AVAC has new resources and information covering mpox, UN negotiations on a declaration on pandemic preparedness, and highlights from the annual South African AIDS Conference (SAAIDS). In addition, be sure to scroll down for upcoming webinars on HIV and STI conferences and more!

Advocacy in Action: An update on the moving pieces of PPPR
Pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPPR) involves numerous initiatives to ensure the world is ready to respond to existing and future pandemics. UN members are in the midst of negotiating the language of a declaration on PPPR, which will commit heads of state and their governments to agreements on global coordination. And similar negotiations are underway on a global Pandemic Accord.

Check out, Our Take: Is the UN Declaration on PPPR and the Pandemic Accord going in the right direction? This blog by AVAC’s Sam Rick explores an analysis, conducted by AVAC and partners, of the current drafts of the Pandemic Accord and the UN Declaration on PPPR—and their implications for equity in global health. For background, see AVAC’s Advocates Guide for PPPR in 2023 and the recording from a recent webinar, The Road to and Beyond High-Level Meeting on UHC and PPR.

SA AIDS
The 11th annual South Africa AIDS Conference took place in June 20-23 in Durban, South Africa. AVAC and CASPR partners hosted a buzzing Research Literacy Networking Zone with a rich schedule of programs—see the full schedule here, and recordings here. We’re also super excited to report the launch of the Young Women’s HIV Prevention Council at SAAIDS—stay tuned for more about this dynamic group of women soon!

Updated PrEP Product Introduction Country Planning Matrix
Check out our updated Product Introduction Country Planning Matrix that tracks the regulatory status of cabotegravir for PrEP and the dapivirine vaginal ring, along with related implementation research, procurement plans, and oral PrEP provision.

ICYMI: Recordings of recent webinars

  • Mpox: Research, prevention and overcoming disparities—PrEP In Black America, PrEP4All, Treatment Action Group and AVAC co-hosted a webinar with an expert panel who explored the latest research, precautions individuals can take to protect themselves, effectiveness of vaccines, and the ongoing fight to address disparities in infection rates and uptake of vaccines, treatments and tests that impact Black communities. It is important for advocates to remain engaged, and for affected communities to be supported in completing their two-dose mpox vaccine regimens. Listen to the webinar and check out the resources.
  • PrEP That Booty: The latest on rectal microbicide research for the back door—The latest webinar from The Choice Agenda explored new research on rectal microbicides and advocacy for non-systemic options. Find slides and related resources here and watch for the recording coming soon.

Upcoming Webinars!
July 18: ClusterF*#k: Molecular HIV Surveillance, Criminalization, and The Real Risks to PLHIV
Register here
August 3: Tales from Two Cities: HIV and STI research highlights from IAS in Brisbane and ISSTDR in Chicago
Register here

A Recap of Resources: UNAIDS meeting, HVAD webinars and more

In this round up of updates and resources, you’ll find a read-out of the May UNAIDS high-level meeting in Geneva, two webinars that spotlight critical issues for vaccines R&D and the potential of broadly neutralizing antibodies, and an upcoming webinar looking at alternatives to long-acting PrEP. Read on and join us!

The HIV Response at UNAIDS High-level Meeting
A high-level meeting in Geneva, held by UNAIDS last month on the margins of the World Health Assembly, brought together advocates and experts through the Global HIV Prevention Coalition to discuss where action is needed most to bolster HIV response and advance global health equity. Read AVAC’s summary of the meeting in our latest P-Values blog.

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Vaccines in 2023 and Beyond
AVAC hosted two webinars in commemoration of HIV Vaccine Awareness Day. They offer a snapshot on the state of the field for an HIV vaccine, and explore considerations for the development and delivery of vaccines against future pandemics. Check them out below and read more in our HVAD one-pager!

What’s All the Buzz About: mRNA, manufacturing, vaccines access Local production has emerged as an essential part of the solution for ensuring sustainable and equitable supplies of vaccines in low- and middle-income countries. This webinar explored how local manufacturing and the new mRNA Hub in South Africa could facilitate access and support R&D. Check out the summary and recording.

To bNAb or not to bNAb? The case for broadly neutralizing antibodies AVAC and partners explored the potential role of bNAbs in prevention, the status of research and development, and implications for HIV vaccine research. Check out the summary and recording.

Upcoming
PrEP In Black America Presents Mpox Webinar
PrEP in Black America alongside a panel of experts will discuss the impact of mpox on Black communities, advocacy and mobilization to keep our communities safe, and information on vaccine effectiveness. Tuesday, June 20 at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM ET. Register here.

PrEP That Booty: The latest on rectal microbicide research for the back door
Most of the coverage of the HIV prevention pipeline is about long-acting, longer-acting, and even longer-acting products that deliver drug throughout the body and require a trained clinician to deliver. However, these attributes are not desirable to many folks, and communities want a range of choices. Learn more about the alternatives at this webinar. Thursday, June 29 at 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM ET. Register here.

HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (HVAD) 2023

May 18th is recognized as HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (HVAD), and this year it is a time of deep reflection and potential. Three major HIV vaccine trials have ended in no efficacy since 2020, but the field knows more than ever that a vaccine is still needed for a durable and sustainable end to the pandemic – and has new insights into possible vaccine strategies that might one day effectively protect against HIV.

This year, AVAC and CASPR partners are casting a spotlight on the many issues and opportunities for HIV vaccine science. See below for three important conversations

Podcast: Listen to AVAC’s PxPulse podcast, Evolving Strategies for an HIV Vaccine: One researcher explains where the field is going and why, featuring Katy Stephenson of Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research. In conversation with AVAC’s Jeanne Baron, Katy provides an accessible breakdown on the status of the field of HIV vaccine research, including details on recent trial results that proved ineffective and what’s next (and exciting) in HIV vaccine advocacy and research.

“The field needs to expand the diversity of scientists who are thinking of new ideas. We haven’t gotten far with the ideas coming out exclusively from the United States and Europe. We need to bring in young scientists of diverse backgrounds all over the world to think of ideas we can’t even imagine.”

“We now know that non-broadly neutralizing antibodies don’t work, but broadly neutralizing antibodies can work. It’s a big milestone in the field to have that kind of knowledge now.”

Katy Stephenson, Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research

Webinars: AVAC brought together partners, advocates and other experts for two vaccine webinars. The first, on local manufacturing production, takes on this essential part of the solution for ensuring sustainable and equitable supplies of vaccines in low- and middle-income countries. The second explores the development of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNABs) and their potential in HIV prevention. Check out the recording and slides for both.

What’s All the Buzz About: mRNA, manufacturing, vaccines access – featuring Caryn Fenner of Afrigen Biologics, Ike James of Medicines Patent Pool, and Mike Frick of Treatment Action Group. 

“LMICs (Low- or Middle-Income Country) are not only the consumers of IP (Intellectual Property), we are the generators of IP!” Caryn Fenner, Afrigen Biologics

“It’s important for us in the Global North to know that vaccine technology didn’t start in Global North and was often taken from others.” Mike Frick, Treatment Action Group.

“Engagement and commitment [is needed], not only when a pandemic exists, but long-term commitments are key to follow through on.” Ike James, Medicine Patents Pool

To bNAb or not to bNAb? The case for broadly neutralizing antibodies – featuring Slim Abdool Karim of CAPRISA, Pervin Anklesaria of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Khadija Richards of Wits RHI, and Huub Gelderblom of HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN).

“The scientific complexities of bNAbs require a more attuned focus on community engagement… And it will require a high degree of validating [people’s] lived experience.”, Khadija Richards, Wits RHI.

“The hope is that if bNAbs are effective in prevention, they create a pathway towards a vaccine.” Slim Abdool Karim, CAPRISA

“To close the gap between scientific innovation and globally accessible and affordable bNAb combination products…we certainly need innovation in manufacturing. It is a long-term process and it’s not going to happen overnight. But we do need to start now.” Pervin Anklesaria, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

“What I see is actually multiple modes of PrEP available, and then people can make choices depending on what works for them.” Huub Gelderblom of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network on the potential of bNAbs as PrEP

Summary of UNAIDS High-level HIV Prevention Meeting

On May 24, health ministrers from across the globe joined health advocates and experts through the Global HIV Prevention Coalition for a UNAIDS high-level discussion to take stock on progress toward ending the epidemic and how the fight for equity in HIV prevention is instrumental to preparing an effective response to current and future pandemics.

UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima kicked off the meeting by highlighting how punitive legislation around stigma and discrimination are holding back the HIV response from achieving the global targets for new HIV acquisitions. She stressed that meaningful investments on prevention and taking action on harmful policies will help prepare for future pandemics. This applies directly to Uganda’s recent passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023. Read AVAC’s statement, which condemns the policy and shows how discriminatory policies can and will impede efforts to end the epidemic, and the Joint Statement by the Leaders of the Global Fund, UNAIDS and PEPFAR on Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023.

PEPFAR Acting Principal Deputy US Global AIDS Coordinator Mamadi Yilla addressed the need to aggressively scale-up the world’s already available prevention products and provide access and availability of choice to those who need it most. She said, “We must treat and provide services for the epidemic we have now. Not the one we used to have or the one we wish we had.”

The Global Fund executive director Peter Sands said the process of requesting investments in HIV prevention isn’t always an easy task noting that money travels further by removing stigma, discrimination, and other barriers to access. “Community led interventions are not just effective at reaching the people most in need [key populations], but they’re also on the whole, very cost effective. Providing comprehensive sexual reproductive health services to adolescents has a huge return on investment way beyond HIV.”

AVAC’s Executive Director, Mitchell Warren, who also co-chairs the Global HIV Prevention Coalition, closed out the meeting by summarizing the evening’s discussion—of which he noted many of the parallels and similarities made throughout the meeting, and by also saying that history will judge us harshly on how we act during this pivotal moment in the epidemic. “The things we say in these rooms, the things we say in Geneva don’t prevent infections. They’re the things we do when we walk out of this room that do. This is the best chance we’ve ever had, in probably the entire history of the AIDS pandemic, to reimagine HIV prevention and to do it with equity and with impact.”

Watch the full recording of the meeting here, and read UNAIDS alerts countries to an unprecedented opportunity to stop new HIV infections, end AIDS and prepare for future pandemics.

New Publications On The Dual Prevention Pill And The MPT Landscape

The research journal Frontiers in Reproductive Health has published a special issue on multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs) with ten articles exploring the latest thinking on MPT development from “bench to bedside.” Among them, an article co-authored by AVAC’s Kate Segal and partners in our Dual Prevention Pill (DPP) Consortium, Equipping providers to offer novel MPTs: Developing counseling messages for the Dual Prevention Pill in clinical studies and beyond, reports on recommendations for counseling users on the DPP.

Another article, co-authored by CHAI and other members of the DPP Consortium, Cost-effectiveness of the dual prevention pill for contraception and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, discusses the results of a modeling study that identified the conditions for the DPP to be cost effective.

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These two articles, and the other articles in the special issue, Multipurpose Prevention Technologies for HIV, STIs & Pregnancies, provide updates on new options being tested, user preference research, strategies for product introduction, and elaborate on where the field needs to go to bring an array of new MPTs to market.

This comes in the midst of growing awareness that HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and reproductive health are inextricably linked. Integrating services is essential to address the pernicious effects of STIs, prevent HIV, and to offer people of childbearing age interventions that fit into their lives. MPT research and development is a central component to offering integrated services. External and internal condoms are the only MPTs currently on the market, but a growing body of evidence makes clear that people all over the world want and need choices to protect against pregnancy and other health threats, such as STIs and HIV. A variety of MPT strategies are in development now, including vaginal rings, pills, micro-array patches, injectables, implants, rectal and vaginal fast-dissolving inserts, and rectal and vaginal gels.

See AVAC.org’s dedicated page on MPTs to learn more, or check out our recent The Choice Agenda webinar on all things MPTs and our MPT factsheet.

AVAC Statement on Uganda’s Anti-Gay Law and Other Resources

As we prepared this collection of highlights and resources on a wide range of issues, we learned that Uganda’s President Museveni had signed into law the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023. You’ll find our statement condemning Uganda’s enactment of the hate-filled and dangerous new law at the top our newsletter, and we hope you’ll follow the links in this statement to our partners who are working in solidarity to defeat it. Around the world, the voices of advocates have never been more important, and our joint action to oppose hate and discrimination is imperative now, to sustain the gains that have been made against HIV, to save lives, and to fulfill the promise of equity in global health.

Scroll down for other resources and updates that are shaping global health and the HIV response. These include: new data and infographics in PxWire; perspectives from the World Health Assembly; upcoming webinars on vaccine manufacturing and broadly neutralizing antibodies; new publications on multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs); highlights from the PrEP in Black America Summit; new STI resources; and a recent webinar on expanding HIV cure research across Africa!

AVAC Condemns Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023
AVAC’s statement denounces the decision by Uganda President Yoweri Museveni to sign the legislation into law and calls for solidarity with Uganda’s LGBTQIA+ and civil rights advocates who are demanding the courts uphold Uganda’s constitution and prevent this law from going forward.

The Latest Px Wire
Our quarterly snapshot of biomedical HIV prevention R&D, implementation and advocacy features updates and infographics on oral PrEP uptake, implementation science studies with injectable cabotegravir for PrEP and the dapivirine vaginal ring, and incidence rates from HIV prevention trials over the past 25 years.

The World Health Assembly and PPPR
As the World Health Assembly made news last week by approving a 20 percent increase to the WHO budget, advocates are calling the early draft of the pandemic accord a step backward for equity. Several moving pieces are setting up a new architecture for global health. Learn how all this work on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPPR) fits together, and where advocates can engage in AVAC’s Advocates Guide for PPPR in 2023. For further background, read our position paper on PPPR and find links to related webinars and podcasts here.

For perspective on increased funding to the WHO and the evolving new architecture for global health, listen to A Shot In The Arm podcast episode, “Too Fund or Not Too Fund The WHO. That is the question”, featuring a conversation with AVAC Executive Director, Mitchell Warren, Global Health Council Executive Director Elisha Dunn-Georgiou and podcast host Ben Plumley.

And, UNAIDS and the Global HIV Prevention Coalition hosted a special session, A High-Level Dialogue on Accelerating HIV Prevention and Future Pandemics. Check it out to hear civil society representatives, ministers of health, and leaders of UNAIDS, The Global Fund, PEPFAR and AVAC talk about the opportunities and challenges in delivering on the promise of current HIV prevention options.

SAVE THE DATE: Two Upcoming Vaccine Webinars
On May 18th, AVAC and the Coalition to Accelerate & Support Prevention Research (CASPR) marked HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (HVAD) with a package of resources, and highlights of activities. Our HVAD program continues with two upcoming webinars exploring the changing landscape of vaccine research, development and advocacy.

What’s All the Buzz About: mRNA, manufacturing, vaccines access
Thursday, June 1 at 10am ET / 4pm SAST. Register here.

To bNAb or not to bNAb? The case for broadly neutralizing antibodies
Wednesday, June 7 at 10 AM ET / 4 PM SAST. Register here.

Paving The Way for The Dual Prevention Pill
Frontiers in Reproductive Health published a special issue on MPTs! AVAC’s Kate Segal is a co-author of Equipping providers to offer novel MPTs: Developing counseling messages for the Dual Prevention Pill in clinical studies and beyond, and partners from CHAI and the DPP Consortium contributed the article Cost-effectiveness of the dual prevention pill for contraception and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis.

PrEP in Black America
The 2023 summit on PrEP in Black America ended May 19 on a high note with a crucial policy conversation with the Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, Harold Philips, on a proposal to advance a national PrEP program in the US. Interested to learn more? Check out the 2023 report from PrEP in Black America, For Us, By Us: PrEP In Black America: A Master Plan For HIV Prevention In Black America.

STI Advocacy
AVAC has been expanding our advocacy for STI prevention, from better diagnostics to vaccine development. The recent conference of the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) featured key discussions on resource allocation and on DoxyPEP, with guidelines expected from the CDC before the end of year. See our new STI factsheet, watch the TCA October 2022 webinar on Doxy for STIs, and bookmark STI Watch.org for further background.

Pioneering HIV Cure Research Where It’s Needed Most
AVAC and a number of partners hosted Advancing HIV Cure to Africa: What is needed? The webinar features two panel discussions on how researchers, communities and other stakeholders from high income countries can work equitably with low- and middle-income countries in the interests of an HIV cure for all. Find the recording and learn more here.

AVAC Condemns Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023

AVAC strongly condemns Uganda’s new Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 that President Yoweri Museveni signed into law and stands in solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community in Uganda.

“This newly signed legislation expands on a previous attempt to legislate hate and oppression of the LGBTQIA+ community in Uganda nearly a decade ago,” said Angelo Kaggwa-Katumba, Senior Program Manager at AVAC. “As LGBTQIA+ people and allies, AVAC and our partners have been tireless in our work to change attitudes and policy – in Uganda and around the world – because we’ve seen the direct link between criminalization and stigma and the devastating impact both have on HIV incidence. This new law is a direct violation of the health, rights and humanity of the LGBTQIA+ community, and will undermine and reverse Uganda’s progress in HIV prevention, destroying community wellbeing and taking lives along the way.”

The new law increases penalties for consensual sex among same-sex individuals, provisions that Uganda has had on the books as anti-sodomy laws from the British colonial era. It also criminalizes advocacy that supports LGBTQIA+ Ugandan rights, and could even bring death sentences, for so-called “aggravated homosexuality,” a clause that can be applied to people living with HIV, intensifying stigma and a cascade of other harms. Such provisions drive people underground, discouraging the most vulnerable populations from seeking testing, treatment and prevention, and they will setback the fight against HIV.

Advocates have pledged to challenge the constitutionality of the law before the courts, as detailed in this statement from Convening for Equality (CFE), a Ugandan LGBTQIA+ community-led Coalition working alongside a broad range of national and international partners. In addition, leaders of the Global Fund, UNAIDS and PEPFAR have also issued a Joint Statement by the Leaders of the on Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023, stating their “deep concern about the harmful impact” of the law “on the health of its citizens and its impact on the AIDS response that has been successful up to now.”

“We must come together and make our voices resoundingly clear: we must stand as one, united in our determination to dismantle this oppressive regime of intolerance,” said Richard Lusimbo, a Co-Convener of CFE, Director General of the Uganda Key Populations Consortium (UKPC), and long-time AVAC partner. “Today, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment, declaring that we will not rest until the shackles of this dangerous law are broken. We will tirelessly strive until equality and justice prevail over discrimination and hate. Let this be the rallying cry igniting change, fueling our collective efforts to create a future where everyone is celebrated for their uniqueness and embraced unconditionally.”

Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act is one of the world’s most extreme anti-gay laws, in a period when several other countries, including the US, are seeing an increasing number of anti-LGBTQIA+ laws proposed.

“This law is part of a global increase in extremism focused on moralizing behavior related to sexual and reproductive health that could set back decades of progress in building community-focused health services,” said Mitchell Warren, AVAC executive director. “The now signed anti-gay bill in Uganda is the latest in a wave of anti-LGBTQIA+ actions in several countries, from arrests in Zambia to a backlash in Kenya, to anti-trans laws in several US states and elsewhere, all of which threaten lives and livelihoods, and our ability to connect key populations with the resources they need and deserve to prevent and treat HIV and to live their fullest lives. If this were happening in any one country, it would be alarming, but the fact that it’s happening in multiple countries, in multiple parts of the world, is downright chilling.”

“Global, regional, national and local leaders must stand up and fight back against these heinous laws. If we don’t deal with the fundamental reality of stigma, discrimination and criminalization, we will never end any epidemic. We stand in solidarity with all allies and partners committed to turning the tide from hate and fear to global health equity for all,” Warren added.

New Issue of PxWire: A look at where we are in HIV prevention

Our new issue of PxWire is here and shares the latest PrEP updates including new data from the PrEP Tracker, the HIV prevention pipeline, the prevention playlist and more! Check out the full issue here.