October 7, 2026
Advocacy has always been the heartbeat of progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Now, more than ever, it is especially needed to ensure that innovation translates into real choices, equitable access and meaningful impact. In this issue, we highlight the power of coalition advocacy – from advocates working in partnership to shape research agendas and oppose policies that threaten progress, to ensuring communities have a voice in AI development and use, to the lessons learned from sustained, coalition-based advocacy that will shape what comes next.
Protecting HIV Research Amidst Threats to NIH
Following advocacy by AVAC, advocates, researchers, scientific institutions and members of the US Congress, the White House dropped plans for an Executive Order that would have given an external review committee decision-making power over billions of dollars in biomedical research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The reversal came as the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Council and AIDS Research Advisory Committee met to discuss the proposed reorganization of NIAID that would eliminate the Division of Clinical Research and redistribute clinical research functions across the Institute – a move that threatens the incredible progress that has been achieved toward HIV treatment and prevention as well as potentially putting lives at risk. AVAC delivered a public comment at the meeting, urging NIH to withdraw the proposal, provide greater transparency and meaningful opportunities for community input, and immediately release delayed funding opportunities for the HIV Clinical Trials Networks and Centers for AIDS Research (CFARs).
Now, the picture has become even more complicated, with the NIH notifying HIV researchers last Friday that they should pause launching any new studies that had not yet enrolled participants and that would go beyond November 30 of next year when current funding expires.
The Save HIV Funding Campaign, which AVAC co-founded with PrEP4All and the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA), requests organizations to consider signing on to this letter that urges Members of Congress to demand that the US Department of Health and Human Services approve the release of overdue Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) that fund the NIH HIV clinical trials networks and the CFARs for the next seven years. This funding is essential to the continuation of HIV research, including clinical trials that involve people who receive vital services. The deadline for signing on is Thursday, October 15th. For individuals in the US, please consider sending emails to your members of Congress through this link.
Read AVAC’s remarks on the proposed NIAID reorganization
Advocates Lead in Rio: Moving from a seat at the table to the head of the table
At AIDS 2026, advocates didn’t just join the conversation – they drove it. From HIV prevention choice and equitable access to community-led research and the future of HIV prevention, advocates brought bold priorities, lived experience and accountability to the center of the global HIV response. Across panels, protests, satellites and strategic meetings, communities made clear: there is no effective HIV response without community leadership. As WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus put it, communities are “its architects.” In AVAC’s latest blog, Senior Program Manager Navita Jain reflects on the power of communities at the conference, and AVAC’s top ten list compiles the takeaways influencing the field well beyond the conference.
Read how advocates led the narrative at AIDS 2026
The Clinical Trial Design Academy: Equipping Advocates to Shape HIV Prevention Research Decisions and Move the Research Agenda Forward
AVAC’s Clinical Trial Design Academy (CTDA) brings together advocates with diverse perspectives and technical expertise to strengthen their ability to shape HIV prevention research. Through the network, members share knowledge, engage directly with researchers and work collectively to ensure community priorities inform research agendas and trial decisions. From shaping the People’s Research Agenda to influencing the design of the EXPrESSIVE trials of monthly oral alimatravir for PrEP, CTDA members are demonstrating the power of a connected, technically informed advocacy network to move research forward. As Kenyan CTDA member Simon Ondiek shared, “beyond the technical skills, the biggest impact has been the network we’ve built—a community that continues to learn from one another and ensure research remains responsive to community realities”. The CTDA meets in person this week—stay tuned for updates and outcomes.
Read about the CTDA’s collective impact on HIV prevention research
AVAC’s AI & HIV Newsletter
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already being used in HIV programming, making the need for community leadership an urgent matter. “Community governance must be part of that infrastructure, not an advisory layer added at the end, but a legitimate source of expertise and authority in setting the rules,” writes ITPC Executive Director, Community Working Group Co-Lead of the Lancet Commission on AI + HIV, and AVAC Board Member Solange Baptiste. AVAC’s quarterly AI and HIV newsletter provides advocates with the information and resources to advance community prioritization in AI. The latest issue looks across important perspectives like Baptiste’s, alongside data from AIDS 2026 emerging tools, policy developments and research shaping how AI is developed, governed and used across HIV and global health.
CASPR Impact Report: Celebrating Growth, Inspiring the Future
The CASPR Impact Report: Celebrating Growth, Inspiring the Future captures what is possible when long-term investment in African leadership, partnerships and coalition-based advocacy is matched with shared purpose. The Coalition to Accelerate and Support Prevention Research (CASPR) is an Africa-led movement that connects communities, researchers, policymakers, journalists and funders to transform HIV prevention advocacy. Over the past decade, CASPR proved that community-led coalitions are central to turning innovation into action and ensuring that advances in HIV prevention are shaped by the people they are meant to serve, while offering a blueprint for the future HIV prevention advocacy.
Additional Resources from AVAC and Our Partners
- Newsletter: STIWatch Newsletter September 2026
- Upcoming webinar: PrEP-it SHIPP – register here
- Resource: Country-Led STI Advocacy Agendas
- Project update: Ascend Futures Foundation introduces the EmpowerHER Project
- Report: COMPASS at AIDS 2026
- Podcast: AIDS 2060: The Next Gen Leaders in the Fight against HIV are Teenage Girls & Young Women, featuring Yvette Raphael
- Webinar recording: The Persistence Paradigm: Ensuring the Longevity of Health Equity Research
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Access Bridge is an independent, Africa-anchored organization advancing timely, sustainable, and equitable introduction of and access to HIV prevention and related health products. To receive updates on Access Bridge’s work and impact, sign up for the newly launched newsletter.
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