WHO released updated guidance on “Hormonal Contraceptive Eligibility for Women at High Risk of HIV”. The WHO updated guidance shifts DMPA, other progestogen-only injectables and IUDs to a MEC 1 classification, which states that the products can be used without restriction. The updated WHO recommendations follow a thorough review of the latest scientific evidence, including the recent results of the ECHO trial, which evaluated whether the risk of HIV differs with the use of three different safe and effective contraceptive methods.
Contraceptive Eligibility for Women at High Risk of HIV Guidance Statement
AVAC Comments to Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee and FDA re: TAF/FTC (Descovy) as PrEP
AVAC comments submitted to the Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee and FDA re: TAF/FTC (Descovy) as PrEP, which encourage the Advisory Committee to recommend, and the FDA to approve, the supplemental indication for daily oral PrEP with F/TAF for adult men and women at risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 infection – with the appropriate requirements for labeling, post-marketing surveillance and REMS as described in the letter, and as per the FDA’s own updated guidance on REMS and access posted earlier this year.
Translating Progress into Success to End the AIDS Epidemic
Dramatic reductions in HIV incidence and mortality have been accomplished in very different settings around the world, from Malawi and Thailand to London and San Francisco. While success was achieved in different ways in each location, taken together they demonstrate the gains that can be realized on a global scale.
This publication highlights six locations — Thailand, Malawi, Rakai, New South Wales, London, and San Francisco — that have made impressive progress against the epidemic. Each visual provides an HIV surveillance timeline as well as crucial policy changes—inflection points—that contributed to success.
Global Investment in HIV Cure Research and Development in 2018
In 2014, the HIV Vaccines and Microbicides Resource Tracking Working Group and AVAC began a collaboration with the International AIDS Society’s (IAS) Towards an HIV Cure initiative. AVAC, Treatment Action Group (TAG) and the IAS brought together a group to review and allocate grants towards HIV cure research and analyze data on global funding. The working group released a report in July 2019, Global Investment in HIV Cure Research and Development in 2018.
As per findings, US$323.9 million was invested in cure research in 2018, representing a 12 percent increase over the US$288.8 million invested in 2017. Compared to the US$88.1 million invested in 2012, this is a 268 percent increase. The public sector accounted for the majority of funding, with the remaining US$19.7 million invested by philanthropies such as Aidsfonds, amfAR, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CANFAR, Institut Pasteur, Sidaction and Wellcome Trust.
HIV Prevention Research & Development Investments 2018: Investing to end the epidemic
This annual accounting of funding for biomedical HIV prevention research tracks trends and identifies gaps in investment. The report indicates an uptick after five consecutive years of declining investment. In 2018, funding for HIV prevention R&D increased by a modest 1.2 percent or US$13 million from the previous year, growing to US$1.14 billion. While the increase is encouraging, it’s the smallest net increase since 2003.
Click here for the full archive of past resource tracking reports.
An Activist’s Guide to Influencing and Monitoring KPIF Rollout
Two-page guide for advocates and activists working on the engagement of key population-led groups in the implementation planning of PEPFAR’s Key Population Investment Fund (KPIF). Includes information on the fund, KPIF countries, lead agencies in each country, activist demands and to-do list.
The ECHO Trial Results: Time to Act
In this episode of Px Pulse. we take a look the results of the ECHO study and what they mean from several angles. Leaders of the trial, formally called Evidence for Contraceptive options in HIV Outcomes, announced study findings in mid-June. ECHO found no substantial difference in HIV acquisition among women using one of three highly effective contraceptive methods in the study: DMPA-IM, the copper IUD, the LNG implant).
Understanding the Results of the ECHO Study
A comprehensive guide to interpreting the results of the ECHO Study. Includes concise information on the study’s background, design and results, and a full section on next steps such as the WHO process for updating its guidance and what advocates can do to get involved.
A Roadmap for Results: Understanding the ECHO Study Results
On June 13, FP2020 and AVAC held a webinar, A Roadmap for Results: Understanding the ECHO Study Results, with the ECHO team following the results announcement. The webinar explained the trial, provided topline results, outlined next steps, and offered key advocacy messages to help all stakeholders understand the findings.
Watch here.
The ECHO Trial: Preparing for action
In this episode of Px Pulse, AVAC spoke with two leaders from the ECHO trial team, Dr. Jared Baeten and Dr. Helen Rees, to understand what the trial can and cannot tell us. And you’ll hear leading women’s advocates from several countries where the ECHO trial took place share their demands. Carry what you learn forward as the ECHO trial raises the volume on an urgent conversation—how to empower African women around their sexual and reproductive health.