January 21, 2025
As we honor the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. in 2025, his legacy calls on us all to unite in solidarity and persevere in activism, even amid loss, inequity, and injustice.
His words from A Letter from a Birmingham Jail in 1963, are ringing a call to action for us all.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Advocacy for HIV prevention and global health equity must heed MLK’s call — today and always. This series of AVAC’s advocates’ guides shares essential information, tools, and strategies to advance HIV prevention and sexual and reproductive health as part of a comprehensive and integrated pathway to global health equity in 2025 and beyond.
We hope they inspire fierce advocacy to center the rights and needs of communities who are shouldering the impact of the HIV epidemic and facing intensifying systemic inequities in global health.
AVAC’s Advocates’ Guide
AVAC’s Advocates’ Guides support informed advocacy by breaking down complex topics, fostering community engagement, and promoting evidence-based action to accelerate ethical development and equitable delivery of effective HIV prevention options.
Advocates’ Guide to Lenacapavir: The Basics on Injectable Lenacapavir as PrEP
Provides background on lenacapavir for PrEP and its trials; a summary of the early findings of PURPOSE 1 and 2; key questions and next steps.
Puts forward recommendations to diversify and strengthen the HIV prevention pipeline, enhance investment and financial support for HIV prevention research and development, and guide an advocacy strategy that truly addresses the needs of communities across the prevention pipeline.
Advocates’ Guide to Doxycycline to Prevent Bacterial STIs (DoxyPEP)
Explores who will benefit most from DoxyPEP to prevent the acquisition of some bacterial STIs after sex and how it could be implemented to ensure equitable access.
Advocates’ Guide to Multipurpose Prevention Technologies (MPTs)
Shows the pipeline of products in development, discusses why MPTs are needed, investment, and what advocates can do to push for MPT development and introduction.
Advocates’ Guide to Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response
Explains the major initiatives in global pandemic planning, and how to get involved and make sure your priorities are heard by decision makers.
Advocate’s Guide to Research in Pregnant and Lactating Populations
Provides background on the need for research in pregnant and lactating populations and how advocates can advance inclusion.
Advocates’ Series: From the Lab to the Jab
Provides a roadmap for advocacy to advance the development and delivery of essential vaccines for HIV, COVID-19, tuberculosis, and other global public health threats, and approaches to ensure equitable access to these life-saving vaccines.
Shares up-to-date, community-preferred terminology within cure research.
Whatever your role in the fight for equity and justice, we thank you for your service.
“If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But by all means keep moving.” — MLK Jr. from a 1960 address at Spelman College.