July 16, 2026
The future of HIV prevention will depend not only on scientific breakthroughs, but on advocacy to bring those breakthroughs to communities to achieve impact. With global health undergoing profound change, the way forward requires new models of collaboration that are community-led, locally owned and sustainably funded. The Coalition to Accelerate and Support Prevention Research (CASPR) offers one such model for the field as we collectively work to end the HIV epidemic.
AVAC’s newly released CASPR Impact Report: Celebrating Growth, Inspiring the Future shows what is possible when long-term investment in African leadership, partnerships and advocacy is matched with shared purpose. CASPR proved that community-led coalitions are not just a complement to scientific progress, but are central to this progress. They have proved to be essential to turning innovation into action and ensuring that advances in HIV prevention are shaped by the people and communities they are meant to serve.
CASPR was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and designed by AVAC in collaboration with 13 partners. The project was intended to run from 2016 through 2026, but was paused in early 2025 amidst sweeping cuts to US federal funding for foreign assistance and the dismantling of USAID. During its eight years, CASPR built an Africa-led movement that connected communities, researchers, policymakers, journalists and funders to transform HIV prevention advocacy. CASPR strengthened community leadership, shaped research agendas, improved accountability and helped accelerate the translation of scientific discovery into public health impact.
CASPR built an intergenerational movement that influenced HIV policy, research and implementation. For example, CASPR partners played a pivotal role in ensuring the PURPOSE trials (studying injectable lenacapavir for PrEP) centered affected communities from trial design to results dissemination. CASPR members chaired the PURPOSE 1 global community advisory group (GCAG), held six of its eight seats and ensured young women were included on the GCAG and in the research, from the start. The GCAG also ensured the trial protocol allowed pregnant and breastfeeding individuals to remain in the trial after re-consent, and the Civil Society Caucus for Long-Acting PrEP (a CASPR-supported initiative) pushed Gilead to publicly announce a commitment to ensuring equitable access. CASPR made certain that the trials were conducted ethically and included communities, setting a standard for future clinical research.
At the same time, CASPR partners established the African Women Prevention Community Accountability Board (AWPCAB) as a network led by and for African women, advocating for sustained financial and political commitment to HIV prevention choice. The AWPCAB launched the Choice Manifesto in 2023, securing commitments and endorsements from high-level stakeholders such as Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, representatives from USAID and African ministries of health. The Choice Manifesto shifted the global narrative on choice in HIV prevention, elevating it as core to achieving equity in the HIV response. With the Choice Manifesto in hand, CASPR partners achieved significant policy wins, like the inclusion of the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring in the Zambia Consolidated Treatment and Prevention Guidelines.
CASPR also redefined how – and by whom – HIV prevention research priorities are set by ensuring that communities most affected by HIV have a direct voice in shaping the research agenda. CASPR developed the People’s Research Agenda (PRA) through a collaborative process with 138 advocates and community representatives from 23 countries. The PRA puts forward community-driven recommendations to strengthen and diversify the HIV prevention research and development (R&D) pipeline, increase investment in prevention research and guide advocacy that reflects the needs of communities from research to rollout. First launched in 2024 and updated in 2025, the PRA serves as a living accountability tool that continues to guide advocates, researchers and funders in ensuring that HIV prevention R&D remains responsive to the people it is intended to serve. It also now provides ongoing analysis of the pipeline of products in various stages of research and development.
Through CASPR, and building on and incorporating the long-standing AVAC Advocacy Fellows program, more than 700 advocates were mentored, almost 400 adolescent girls and young women were trained in HIV prevention literacy and advocacy and emerging leaders across 15 countries strengthened their capacity to influence HIV prevention research, policy and implementation.
“Before the fellowship, I never imagined I could convene high-level policy dialogues, engage decision-makers or negotiate for stronger HIV prevention responses,” said 2022 AVAC Fellow Ruth Akulu. “The fellowship built my capacity, strengthened my confidence and helped me recognize my ability to lead and influence change.” Today, Ruth is the founder and Executive Director of HopeStone Insight Uganda, a forward-thinking organization that seeks to influence economic policy to advance equitable health outcomes and access to quality healthcare.
In addition to advocates, CASPR engaged journalists as essential partners in translating HIV prevention science and fostering public trust. CASPR held over 200 Media Science Cafés, equipping hundreds of journalists across six countries with the knowledge and skills needed to report HIV prevention science accurately. Convened by local journalist organizations, cafés are informal gatherings that bring together journalists, scientists and advocates to discuss the latest HIV prevention and public health updates. The Café program supported by CASPR forged critical cross-sector relationships and facilitated accurate journalism, ultimately leading to community trust of science and R&D. Café journalists played an especially important role in facilitating trust in the wake of complicated or disappointing results, mobilizing their network within hours of results announcements to translate information for the public, ensure robust community engagement and champion continued research efforts.
CASPR succeeded because it invested deeply in local organizations and embraced shared power, co-created strategy and African leadership. CASPR demonstrated the power of coalitions for generating sustainable advocacy, but that building a coalition takes time. After eight successful years of global coalition-building, CASPR leaves five enduring lessons that will continue to shape the future of HIV prevention advocacy:
- Shared goals create stronger, more resilient coalitions capable of sustaining collective action through changing political and funding landscapes.
- Long-term relationships build trust, effectiveness and collective impact, enabling organizations to move beyond coordination towards genuine collaboration.
- Diverse expertise strengthens learning, innovation and problem-solving; it drives effective advocacy anchored by the complementarity of partner strengths.
- Documenting and communicating successes is essential for visibility, influence and sustainability.
- Intentionally investing in young people and women builds the next generation of advocacy leaders, equipped with confidence, credibility and purpose.
CASPR’s legacy lives in the resilient organizations and networks it incubated such as the AWPCAB and the Civil Society Caucus, which ensure communities drive HIV prevention research and access, as well as in the tools and resources created for advocates, journalists, policymakers and researchers that are still used today to translate HIV prevention research to rollout.
The foundation built by CASPR is also shaping what comes next. As new networks form and the landscape evolves, CASPR partners and other experienced civil society organizations and advocates from East and Southern Africa are engaged in discussions around what comes next for the future of HIV prevention advocacy and mentorship. Advocates are finding innovative ways to advance a renewed vision for African-led HIV prevention advocacy—one that is collaborative, resilient and designed for the challenges ahead. These initiatives are vital so that communities continue to shape the future of HIV prevention—not simply respond to it.
“One of the many things I take with me [from CASPR] is that when you invest in leadership, even when the program or the project closes, the infrastructure remains.”
The lesson from CASPR is clear: strong, community-led advocacy will safeguard the future of HIV prevention. Coalition models build resilience, strengthen accountability and ensure that scientific advances translate into equitable access. But these networks require sustained investment, trust and time to flourish. With the shift in global health funding, now is the moment to invest in the leaders, partnerships and platforms that have already demonstrated their impact.