May 11, 2021
In this round-up of new AVAC resources you’ll find a wide range of new resources:
Understanding the Latest in HIV Prevention Research
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day is just around the corner—May 18th! In preparation, AVAC hosted a webinar, HIV Vaccines in the Midst of COVID, on Thursday, May 13.
An Advocates’ Primer on Long-Acting Injectable Cabotegravir for PrEP: In 2020, two large-scale efficacy trials, HPTN 083 & 084, found that a long-acting injectable form of cabotegravir as PrEP provided high levels of protection among people at risk of HIV. That’s truly exciting. There’s also a lot to learn and understand about next steps. What do the trial results explain, what still needs to be explored, and what do advocates think needs to happen next? Check out our primer for what’s known and what’s next for this emerging biomedical HIV prevention strategy.
A webinar: Long-Acting Injectable Cabotegravir for PrEP – Understanding the results and key areas for advocacy: AVAC’s May 3rd webinar on CAB-LA featured the researchers who led the studies on long-acting injectable PrEP, and advocates who are defining key issues for the introduction of CAB-LA.
Dive into the AMP Trials: In this episode of Px Pulse, AVACers Jeanne Baron and Daisy Ouya talk to leading bNAb researcher, IAVI’s Devin Sok; veteran HIV research advocate Mark Hubbard who served on AMP’s protocol team; and a senior member of the HVTN’s community engagement team, a chief explainer of the AMP trails, Gail Broder. Together they explore why these findings point to the need for combination antibodies, the need for a better understanding of the types of HIV that are circulating in a community, the complicated implications of a key lab test, the TZM-bl assay, and more.
Developments in the HIV Prevention Pipeline: PrEP, vaccines and more: Created by AVAC, EATG, PrEP in Europe, and PrEPster, this slide deck and recorded webinar offers community educators and advocates a concise summary of existing and future PrEP products, and a community-level perspective on strategic advocacy for PrEP access and uptake.
Watchdogging PEPFAR
PEPFAR Watch is a new online resource from a collaboration working to hold PEPFAR accountable to communities. The website features reports, news, and resources to support community-led monitoring, a core initiative for accountability in PEPFAR programs. You can also sign up to become members and gain access to webinars, PEPFAR quarterly data and more. The collaboration includes Health GAP, AVAC, TAG, the O’Neill Institute, MPact, the PLUS Coalition, amfAR, and CHANGE. It should be a one stop shop for all the information you need to monitor and influence PEPFAR Country Operational Plans. Find other supportive resources on AVAC’s page: Advocate for Access to High-Impact Prevention.
A Spotlight on Equity and Ethics
Make Your Voice Heard: Towards advancing racial equity & diversity in biomedical research: In response to a call from the NIH for proposals to advance racial equity, diversity, and inclusion within all facets of the biomedical research workforce, and expand research to eliminate or lessen health disparities and inequities, AVAC’s John Meade authored a blog on the major recommendations offered to the NIH from a coalition of 25 HIV research advocate organization.
How can research ethics committees help to strengthen stakeholder engagement in health research in South Africa? An evaluation of REC documents: This article, co-authored by our CASPR partners at South Africa’s HIV AIDS Vaccines Ethics Group (HAVEG) and AVAC’s Jess Salzwedel, and published in the South African Journal of Bioethics and Law, recommends research ethics committees (RECs) step up the focus on stakeholder engagement. Researchers working with REC’s should plan for robust stakeholder engagement and REC documentation should be harmonized to reflect this priority.
Advocacy for Vaccine Access
Breaking the Bottlenecks to COVID-19 Vaccine Access: Ensuring global access to COVID vaccines—and any health commodity—requires a multi-pronged effort to get the right policies in place. This new infographic identifies the multiple factors that contribute to bottlenecks in the global supply of #COVID19 vaccines and how to address them.
We hope these resources, which cut across issues facing the field, will empower your advocacy where change is both crucial and possible.