Celebrating One Year of The Choice Agenda

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! It was one year ago that we introduced The Choice Agenda (TCA) with Jim Pickett in the hopes of creating a space to continue the discussion, debate, and information sharing that has been core to four decades of HIV advocacy and activism in HIV treatment and prevention – and is central to global health equity.

In its first year, we’ve seen close to 1,000 threads on a list serve of 1500+ subscribers covering a broad range of topics from HIV prevention research to sexual health, STIs, PrEP implementation, pleasure, LGBTQIA+ rights, public health, human rights, abortion rights, funding, politics, pandemic preparedness and so much more. We also hosted 18 webinars on an exciting range of topics – with many more to come.

We take this moment to honor the life and work of two of our first subscribers who died this year – the US CDC’s Dawn Smith and Italian activist Giulio Maria Corbelli – each highly consequential, deeply-involved, community-focused and adored.

Today, as we work to make complex science accessible, identify where advocacy and action are needed and pursue bold agendas that improve global responses to HIV and prepare to prevent future pandemics, the TCA’s agenda-setting conversations are more important than ever.

Thank you to everyone who started with the TCA a year ago, who has been a part of the discussion and debate along the way and who are using this platform to continue and who have been part of the discussions and debate.

Take a minute to review our archived resources and webinars, and be sure to sign up for our next two upcoming webinars. Also, if you are interested in joining The Choice Agenda’s global discussion list, reach out to Jim at [email protected].

PrEP (In)equity: Documenting, measuring, and flipping the script towards justice
Tuesday, May 9 at 9:00 AM–10:30AM ET
Featured Speakers: Leisha-McKinley Beach, National HIV/AIDS Consultant, Michael Chancley, PrEP4All, and Patrick Sullivan, Emory University
Register

PrEP That Booty: The latest on rectal microbicide research for the back door
Thursday, June 29 at 9:00 AM–10:30AM ET
Featured Speakers: Jonathan Baker, #RectalRockstar, Craig Hendrix, Johns Hopkins, Juan Michael Porter II, The Body, and Sharon Riddler, University of Pittsburgh
Register

Avac Event

PrEP That Booty: The latest on rectal microbicide research for the back door

Thursday, June 29 at 9:00 AM–10:30AM ET

Most of what we hear about regarding the HIV prevention pipeline is about long-acting, longer-acting, and even longer-acting products that deliver drug throughout the body and require a trained clinician to deliver. However, these attributes are not desirable to many folks, and communities want a range of choices. Researchers and advocates for years have been working on HIV prevention products specifically for the back door (rectum) to provide protection during anal intercourse. These products are user-controlled, non-systemic (the drug stays in the booty and only the booty), and are short-acting, so you don’t have to commit to having a prevention drug in your body for a year or longer. Join us for a dynamic discussion regarding the latest research on Booty PrEP – aka rectal microbicides – with our multi-talented panel.

Speakers include: Jonathan Baker, PA, Laser Surgery Care, Dr. Craig Hendrix, Johns Hopkins, Juan Michael Porter II, The Body, and Dr. Sharon Riddler, University of Pittsburgh

Register here.

Trans Inclusion: Charting HIV Research into the Future: A Manifesto and Scorecard for Advocates and Researchers

Thursday, January 26, 2023


During this webinar, panelists unpacked the No Data No More manifesto and discussed preliminary findings from the TG scorecard, which looked at transgender representation in clinical trials over time. Speaker details, recording, and resources below.

Featured Leigh Ann van der Merwe — Founder and Director: Social, Health & Empowerment Feminist Collective of Transgender Women of Africa; Brian Minalga — AVAC consultant, Trans Inclusion Initiative; and Cindra Feuer — AVAC Senior Program Manager: Partnerships & Capacity Strengthening


Recording / Slides / Resources

Cure

The role of cure in controlling and ending the epidemic

Trans Inclusion: Charting HIV Research into the Future: A Manifesto and Scorecard for Advocates and Researchers

Thursday, January 26, 2023

This webinar featured Leigh Ann van der Merwe — Founder and Director: Social, Health & Empowerment Feminist Collective of Transgender Women of Africa; Brian Minalga — AVAC consultant, Trans Inclusion Initiative; and Cindra Feuer — AVAC Senior Program Manager: Partnerships & Capacity Strengthening.

Recording / Slides / Resources

TB CAB 10-Year Anniversary Evaluation Report 2011–2021 and Podcast

This report details an evaluation of the Global Tuberculosis Community Advisory Board after 10 years of functioning, highlighting strengths, identifying challenging, and illuminating the pathway forward. Visit here for the report and accompanying podcast series.

Product Introduction for Advocates

Basic Elements of Product Introduction for HIV Prevention

This slide deck provides an overview of product introduction, the process of moving products to the “real world”— an interrelated set of actions needed for global and national health systems to incorporate and deliver new, improved or underused technologies.