Jan 19 Webinar: Oral PrEP Implementation and Implications for Next Generation PrEP

[UPDATE]: Visit here for the recording and to read a summary.

On Wednesday, January 19, AVAC and partners shared critical insights and lessons from oral PrEP programs in Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Learning from these efforts, and other key lessons from oral PrEP introduction to date, is essential to faster, smarter and more affordable rollout of future HIV prevention products, including the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring and injectable cabotegravir. These lessons are built on more than six years of analysis and collaboration with partners and reflect urgent priorities for the field. The world cannot afford to make the same mistakes twice as a growing number of tools for prevention gain regulatory approval.

Click here to watch Oral PrEP Implementation and Implications for Next Generation PrEP. You’ll hear Saiqa Mullick of WitsRHI, Joseph Murungu of Pangaea Zimbabwe AIDS Trust (PZAT), and Daniel Were of Jhpiego discuss what has worked and what must change to transform options into choices, to finally reach the targets that will end the epidemic of HIV.

These insights offer a unique opportunity to fulfill the potential of HIV biomedical prevention, demonstrate the impact of informed choice, and realize the full benefits of increasing the use of HIV prevention among those who need it most. As additional PrEP options come to market, they could transform the landscape of HIV prevention—offering more personalized options, increasing the number of PrEP users, and ultimately contributing to lower HIV incidence. These products must be accessible, acceptable and used effectively by those who need them.

This webinar follows the important discussion AVAC convened yesterday, where leading voices in the field of HIV prevention identified their priorities in 2022. Check out the recording of Ups & Downs in the Field: Setting an agenda together for 2022, and watch the January 19th discussion to focus on next steps for these priorities on getting rollout right in 2022.

AVAC Applauds FDA Approval of Injectable PrEP

Yesterday, December 20th, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued welcome news. It has approved injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA, and brand name “Apretude”), the first injectable form of HIV PrEP. As another form of HIV PrEP that does not require taking a daily pill, CAB-LA is a much-needed addition to a proven HIV prevention toolbox that now also includes male and female condoms, daily oral PrEP, voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) and the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring.

“The approval of CAB-LA is a welcome and much-needed boost for HIV prevention,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC. “With as few as six shots per year, this highly effective form of injectable PrEP can help bend the curve of the HIV epidemic – but only if its approval is accompanied by strategic, effective and equitable rollout that transforms the growing list of HIV prevention options into real and accessible choices for the people who need prevention most.”

CAB-LA is an injectable antiretroviral given to adults and adolescents who are confirmed to be HIV-negative at two-month intervals to reduce the risk of HIV. While today’s FDA action approves CAB-LA for use in the United States only, AVAC and its partners will be working in the months ahead to support the review of CAB-LA by regulatory authorities in other parts of the world where new HIV prevention options are sorely needed. AVAC is heartened that ViiV Healthcare, the developer of CAB-LA, has submitted applications to multiple regulatory authorities, including Brazil and several in sub-Saharan Africa that hosted the pivotal clinical trials led by the NIH-funded HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN).

“The experiences of oral PrEP for HIV prevention and from COVID vaccines are stark reminders that the US FDA approval is just one small, albeit important, step in translating exciting science into public health impact,” said Warren. “Without global regulatory approvals, clear guidance from WHO, a commitment to equitable access and fair pricing, and resources to deliver innovation, the best science does not prevent or end pandemics.”

The US approval of CAB-LA is an important and welcome milestone in HIV prevention, however, it is just the first in a series of steps needed to ensure that injectable PrEP can help reduce the 1.5 million new HIV infections that occurred in 2020. Supporting access to injectable PrEP, oral PrEP and the full range of proven prevention options requires programs that are strategically designed, user-centered, appropriately resourced, and promoted and designed to reach those who need prevention most, as outlined in the work of the Biomedical Prevention Implementation Collaborative (BioPIC). Lessons learned from nearly ten years of experience in supporting access to oral PrEP will be particularly important in shaping broad and effective access to injectable PrEP, alongside oral PrEP and the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring, and are detailed at prepwatch.org.

Effective global use of CAB-LA for HIV prevention will also require a significant and long-overdue upgrading of global HIV testing capacity, as injectable PrEP can only be used safely if the recipient is HIV-negative and is tested before every dose. It will also require advocacy around self-testing and lower age of consent to testing policies, which have been significantly correlated with oral PrEP initiations.

“Transparency and fairness in pricing, advocacy to accelerate global regulatory review, feasible testing policies, and upgrades to health systems are crucial to effective access to injectable cabotegravir and must all be part of the global HIV prevention agenda moving forward,” noted Warren. “Today’s approval announcement is warmly welcomed, but is also just the start of efforts to make long-acting injectable PrEP an accessible choice for all in need.”

PrEP’s Time has Come

Early planning for PrEP investment in PEPFAR countries is the next critical step for this intervention to fulfill its promise and bend the prevention curve of the epidemic in PEPFAR supported countries.

The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has played a fundamental and unique role in bringing down the number of global deaths from AIDS and advancing global health, since it launched in 2003. But when it comes to preventing HIV, not just treating it, the world remains in crisis. Despite important declines in HIV rates in Eastern and Southern Africa, in others HIV is on the rise. A global health target to bring down new cases of HIV to 500,000 in 2020 was missed–by a lot, throwing off the global effort to end the epidemic by 2030 unless drastic action is taken now.

PEPFAR has an unparalleled ability to marshal data and support the development of effective programs, as it has done for treatment in countries hard hit by HIV. Today, PEPFAR must apply this capacity to HIV prevention in new and expanded ways. Some of the most crucial decisions about PEPFAR’s role in delivering prevention are too often overshadowed by the critical center-stage effort to achieve the 2025 treatment targets and reduce unacceptably high AIDS deaths in many countries. But some less known, behind-the-scenes decisions are also truly vital. One such issue involves PEPFAR budget codes that few may appreciate and love but have an outsized impact on whether the right commitments are made, and prevention reaches those who need it most. Currently, PEPFAR utilizes 19 budget codes for specific areas of HIV programming including testing, treatment, and prevention, including voluntary male medical circumcision.

PEPFAR’s budgeting approach to oral PrEP is a prime example of how HIV prevention must evolve and how PEPFAR’s long standing commitment to transparency can help lead the way. Oral PrEP is a daily pill that can be taken to prevent HIV. Despite its outstanding efficacy, not one of the budget codes PEPFAR uses for HIV programming tracks spending on PrEP. PrEP expenditures are only identified after they are allocated during the annual Country Operating Plan (COP) process used to develop individual country plans. Country programs designing prevention programming, and most importantly civil society advocating for PrEP as part of the COP process, don’t have a clear budget line as COP plans develop to measure and advocate against. As a result, PrEP programming, although a priority for PEPFAR, can sometimes get lost in the shuffle of COP planning. A budget code provides a benchmark to plan against and cements a program as a priority for PEPFAR.

The story of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) rollout highlights the difference a dedicated budget can make. After the WHO and UNAIDS recommended VMMC for HIV prevention 2007, PEPFAR dedicated funds for countries to scale it up, and tracked the effort with an individual budget code. VMMC has since become a core component of prevention programs in PEPFAR supported countries. Investments in VMMC, totaling more than $1.5 billion according to 2017 information, are used for equipment, supplies, monitoring, evaluation, training and reporting. Since 2007, VMMC underwent a scale-up of historic proportions, reaching 15 million people, and contributing to lowering incidence in those countries. The budget code entailed more than funding and services, it incorporated planning, tracking, accountability, and impact. As the figure below suggests, the experience of PrEP roll-out now almost a decade after FDA approval without a designated budget code has been much slower.

PEPFAR’s track record in implementing HIV programs is historic. The program is credited with preventing infection in nearly 3 million babies, providing treatment to more than 17 million people who live with HIV, providing testing to 50 million people, and training 300,000 thousand new health workers. To finally end the epidemic, this same capacity can and must be brought to bear in prevention. PEPFAR’s strong call for programs to include oral PrEP and setting an overall goal of serving 1 million people with PrEP in 2021, become more difficult targets to aim at with vital planning tools missing. PEPFAR’s experience with VMMC taught us that establishing a designated budget code signals that a given program or product is a priority. PEPFAR supported countries are readying now to plan for COP22, to begin October 1, 2022. Getting a budget code for PrEP approved for COP22 would be an important step in planning for PrEP programs so that targets are met, and funding can succeed.

Ten years of effort to roll out PrEP has brought powerful lessons. The field has learned about complex barriers that inhibit HIV prevention. Stigma and economic hurdles put HIV prevention, such as PrEP, beyond reach for the millions who need it. Overcoming these forces will depend on critical investments that must be monitored for effectiveness. These include peer-led adherence support, marketing strategies to understand who must be reached and how to reach them, public campaigns to generate demand, reliable supply chains, specialized training for providers, and integrating HIV prevention with sexual and reproductive health services. Funding this full spectrum of support depends on clear dedicated budgets. The tools planners, advocates, policy makers and programmers need to be in place to double down on what works in HIV prevention, and, finally, end the epidemic.

Press Release

AVAC Applauds US FDA Approval of the First injectable Form of HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis

The First in a Series of Necessary Steps to Translate Exciting Science into Impact

Contact

Mitchell Warren, +1 (914) 661-1536, [email protected]
Kay Marshall, +1 (347) 249-6375, [email protected]

New York City, December 20, 2021 – AVAC welcomes the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA, and brand name “Apretude”), the first injectable form of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). As another form of HIV PrEP that does not require taking a daily pill, CAB-LA is a much-needed addition to a proven HIV prevention toolbox that now also includes male and female condoms, daily oral PrEP, voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) and the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring.

“The approval of CAB-LA is a welcome and much-needed boost for HIV prevention,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC. “With as few as six shots per year, this highly effective form of injectable PrEP can help bend the curve of the HIV epidemic – but only if its approval is accompanied by strategic, effective and equitable rollout that transforms the growing list of HIV prevention options into real and accessible choices for the people who need prevention most.”

CAB-LA is an injectable antiretroviral given to adults and adolescents who are confirmed to be HIV-negative at two-month intervals to reduce the risk of HIV. While today’s FDA action approves CAB-LA for use in the United States only, AVAC and its partners will be working in the months ahead to support the review of CAB-LA by regulatory authorities in other parts of the world where new HIV prevention options are sorely needed. AVAC is heartened that ViiV Healthcare, the developer of CAB-LA, has submitted applications to multiple regulatory authorities, including Brazil and several in sub-Saharan Africa that hosted the pivotal clinical trials led by the NIH-funded HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN).

“The experiences of oral PrEP for HIV prevention and from COVID vaccines are stark reminders that the US FDA approval is just one small, albeit important, step in translating exciting science into public health impact,” said Warren. “Without global regulatory approvals, clear guidance from WHO, a commitment to equitable access and fair pricing, and resources to deliver innovation, the best science does not prevent or end pandemics.”

The US approval of CAB-LA is an important and welcome milestone in HIV prevention, however, it is just the first in a series of steps needed to ensure that injectable PrEP can help reduce the 1.5 million new HIV infections that occurred in 2020. Supporting access to injectable PrEP, oral PrEP and the full range of proven prevention options requires programs that are strategically designed, user-centered, appropriately resourced, and promoted and designed to reach those who need prevention most, as outlined in the work of the Biomedical Prevention Implementation Collaborative (BioPIC). Lessons learned from nearly ten years of experience in supporting access to oral PrEP will be particularly important in shaping broad and effective access to injectable PrEP, alongside oral PrEP and the vaginal ring, and are detailed at prepwatch.org.

Effective global use of CAB-LA for HIV prevention will also require a significant and long-overdue upgrading of global HIV testing capacity, as injectable PrEP can only be used safely if the recipient is HIV-negative and is tested before every dose. It will also require advocacy around self-testing and lower age of consent to testing policies, which has been significantly correlated with oral PrEP initiations.

“Transparency and fairness in pricing, advocacy for accelerate global regulatory review and appropriate and feasible testing policies, and supporting access programs and health system upgrades needed to support effective global access to injectable cabotegravir must all be part of the global HIV prevention agenda moving forward,” noted Warren. “Today’s approval announcement is warmly welcomed, but is also just the start of efforts to make long-acting injectable PrEP an accessible choice for all in need.”

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About AVAC: Founded in 1995, AVAC is a non-profit organization that uses education, policy analysis, advocacy and a network of global collaborations to accelerate the ethical development and global delivery of HIV prevention options as part of a comprehensive response to the pandemic. Follow AVAC on Twitter @HIVpxresearch and find more at www.avac.org and www.prepwatch.org.

New Report: HIV Prevention R&D funding drops again

Today, we and partners are proud to release the annual HIV Prevention Research and Development Investments Report, with important findings for our collective advocacy. The report reveals a growing mismatch between the current promise of HIV prevention R&D, and continuing declines in the funding available. This decline affects both funding for research on new interventions and funding to expand access to existing prevention tools. The new report is based on outreach to 215 funders of HIV prevention R&D in the public, philanthropic and commercial sectors and includes 2020 funding data.

The latest data shows funding for HIV prevention R&D dropped by US$54 million (4.4 percent) in 2020. This second consecutive annual decrease is part of an eight-year trend of flat or declining funding for HIV prevention R&D.

The report also finds that financial support for HIV prevention R&D is almost entirely dependent on public sector funders, notably from the United States, and on one key United States-based philanthropic funder, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Commercial sector funding, already extremely low, dropped again in this year’s survey.

“These concerning trends in funding come at a promising but very demanding moment in efforts to control the pandemic,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC, which coordinates the Resource Working Group with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). “Funding is declining just as the field confronts a new generation of opportunities and challenges.”

This high stakes environment includes: new products readying for introduction, such as injectable cabotegravir for PrEP and the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring; international support for ambitious new global targets for ending the epidemic; initial proof of concept of antibody-based prevention; and urgently needed new thinking for HIV vaccine development as recent trials have experienced setbacks and new technologies such as mRNA succeed against COVID-19.

Key findings from the report include:

HIV prevention R&D is highly overdependent on a few key funders, and much of the world is not contributing at the levels seen in prior years:

  • HIV prevention R&D funding relies almost exclusively on the public sector, particularly the US public sector. The trend toward an overdependence on a small number of large investors, which the Working Group has surfaced and cautioned against in the past, intensified further in 2020.
    • Globally, the public sector accounts for 86 percent of prevention R&D funding, with 92 percent of that coming from the US public sector.
    • European public sector investments represent only 7 percent of the global total. While European public sector investment increased by 57 percent in 2020, it is still barely half of the US$124 million the European public sector contributed in 2009.
    • The entire rest of the world accounted for only US$14 million, or just 1 percent of total public sector funding.
  • Philanthropic funding, consisting almost exclusively of funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, declined 20 percent in 2020 to US$127 million or 12 percent of the total global investment.
  • Reported commercial sector support for HIV prevention R&D, already the lowest segment of investment, fell by 55 percent to US$31 million, or just 3 percent of the total, in 2020. While total commercial investment may be underreported, trends over time from the data collected show commercial sector investments is, by far, the smallest piece of the funding pie for HIV prevention R&D.

Funding dropped in 2020 across a number of key segments, including:

Preventive vaccine R&D: With two large-scale HIV vaccine trials underway, and dozens of new approaches under investigation, funding for preventive HIV vaccine R&D decreased by 5.5 percent or US$46 million in 2020 to US$802 million. While different European countries have increased or decreased their investments, overall European public sector investment in HIV vaccine R&D decreased 31 percent in 2020, to US$48 million.

R&D for PrEP, including pills, implants, injections: While uptake of oral PrEP grew substantially in 2020, and multiple recent research studies have demonstrated the potential impact of a range of PrEP options including long-acting injections, pills and implants, global investment in PrEP R&D declined 2 percent in 2020 to US$107 million. While US public sector donors increased funding for PrEP R&D by 5 percent, and commercial sector investment increased by 21 percent to US$24 million, neither was enough to overcome a 42 percent decline in funding from the philanthropic sector.

Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC): As a number of studies affirmed the efficacy of VMMC over a decade ago, funding in the field is focused on implementation science, behavioral studies and advocacy and policy, each of which is vital to extending the reach and impact of this highly effective prevention tool. Yet investment in VMMC decreased by 37 percent to just US$6 million in 2020, almost all of which came from a single donor, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Preventing vertical transmission: Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) remains a key prevention priority, but funding for PMTCT R&D decreased by 29 percent in 2020, from US$35 million to US$25 million. The decline is attributed to the loss of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from the list of PMTCT R&D funders, and to decreases in funding from public donors. US public sector funding for PMTCT R&D fell 22 percent to US$22 million in 2020. European funding also fell more than 60 percent, from US$3.4 million in 2019 to US$1.3 million in 2020.

Only two areas of prevention R&D funding showed small increases in funding, including:

Treatment as Prevention (TasP): Long neglected in HIV prevention investment, funding for treatment as prevention (TasP) R&D increased from $1.7million to US$9 million in 2020. The increase came from philanthropy, notably the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (US$5 million) and the Wellcome Trust (US$1 million).

While TasP R&D funding is small overall, this increase is a hopeful sign that TasP may once again receive its appropriate focus as priority for HIV prevention research.

Microbicides: After multiple years of decline, investment in microbicide R&D registered a very small increase (0.4 percent or US$0.6 million) to US$145 million in 2020. Concerningly, there is even less diversity in microbicide funding than in HIV prevention R&D overall, with the public sector providing 99 percent of microbicide R&D resources.

While this tiny increase is a hopeful sign, it does not match the scope of the promise of microbicides. One key product, the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring, is now recommended by the WHO as an additional HIV prevention option. In addition, a range of promising microbicide strategies are under investigation. One, a 90-day dual-purpose vaginal ring designed to confer both contraceptive and HIV protection, was found to be effective in early testing.

This is the 16th annual report from the Resource Tracking for HIV Prevention Research & Development Working Group. Go to HIVResourceTracking.org to explore the key findings, funding trends, and previous reports in depth and follow the conversation on Twitter #HIVResearchFunding.

Press Release

HIV Prevention R&D Funding Drops Again, Even as Major Scientific Advances Require Support

A Worrying Trend Toward Overreliance on a Few Funders Increased in 2020

Contact

Kay Marshall, +1 (347) 249-6375, [email protected]

December 8, 2021 – The annual HIV Prevention Research and Development Investments Report reveals a growing mismatch between the current promise of HIV prevention R&D, and consistent declines in the funding available to both research new HIV prevention approaches and expand access to the prevention tools available today. The 2020 report, based on outreach to 215 funders of HIV prevention R&D in the public, philanthropic and commercial sectors, is the 16th annual report from the Resource Tracking for HIV Prevention Research & Development Working Group.

According to this year’s report, funding for HIV prevention R&D dropped by US$54 million (4.4 percent) in 2020. This second consecutive annual decrease is part of an eight-year trend of flat or declining funding for HIV prevention R&D. The report also finds that financial support for HIV prevention R&D is almost entirely dependent on public sector funders, notably from the United States, and on one key United States-based philanthropic funder, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Commercial sector funding, already extremely low, dropped again in this year’s survey.

“These concerning trends in funding come at a promising but very demanding moment in efforts to control the pandemic,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC, which coordinates the Resource Working Group with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). “Funding is declining just as the field confronts a new generation of opportunities and challenges. These include the introduction of injectable cabotegravir for PrEP and the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring, ambitious new global targets for ending the epidemic, initial proof of concept of antibody-based prevention, and the need to rethink HIV vaccine development in light of setbacks in recent trials and the possible promise of mRNA and other vaccine approaches.”

Among the key findings from the annual HIV Prevention Research and Development Investments Report are the following:

HIV prevention R&D is highly overdependent on a few key funders, and much of the world is not contributing at the levels seen in prior years.

  • HIV prevention R&D funding relies almost exclusively on the public sector, particularly the US public sector. The trend toward an overdependence on a small number of large investors, which the Working Group has surfaced and cautioned against in the past, intensified further in 2020.
    • Globally, the public sector accounts for 86 percent of prevention R&D funding, with 92 percent of that coming from the US public sector.
    • European public sector investments represent only 7 percent of the global total. While European public sector investment increased by 57 percent in 2020, it is still barely half of the US$124 million the European public sector contributed in 2009.
    • The entire rest of the world accounted for only US$14 million, or just 1 percent of total public sector funding.
  • Philanthropic funding, consisting almost exclusively of funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, declined 20 percent in 2020 to US$127 million or 12 percent of the total global investment.
  • Reported commercial sector support for HIV prevention R&D, already the lowest segment of investment, fell by 55 percent to US$31 million, or just 3 percent of the total, in 2020. While total commercial investment may be underreported, it is still the smallest piece of the HIV prevention R&D funding pie.

Funding dropped in 2020 across a number of key HIV prevention R&D segments, including:

Preventive vaccine R&D: With two large-scale HIV vaccine trials underway, and dozens of new approaches under investigation, funding for preventive HIV vaccine R&D decreased by 5.5 percent or US$46 million in 2020 to US$802 million. While different European countries have increased or decreased their investments, overall European public sector investment in HIV vaccine R&D decreased 31 percent in 2020, to US$48 million.

R&D for PrEP, including pills, implants and injections: While uptake of oral PrEP grew substantially in 2020, and multiple recent research studies have demonstrated the potential impact of PrEP in the form of long-acting injections, pills, implants and rings, global investment in PrEP R&D declined 2 percent in 2020 to US$107 million. While US public sector donors increased funding for PrEP R&D by 5 percent, and commercial sector investment increased by 21 percent to US$24 million, neither was enough to overcome a 42 percent decline in funding from the philanthropic sector.

Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC): As a number of studies affirmed the efficacy of VMMC over a decade ago, funding in the field is focused on implementation science, behavioral studies and advocacy and policy, each of which is vital to extending the reach and impact of this highly effective prevention tool. Yet investment in VMMC decreased by 37 percent to just US$6 million in 2020, almost all of which came from a single donor, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Preventing vertical transmission: Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) remains a key prevention priority, but funding for PMTCT R&D decreased by 29 percent in 2020, from US$35 million to US$25 million. The decline is attributed to the loss of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from the list of PMTCT R&D funders, and to decreases in funding from public donors. US public sector funding for PMTCT R&D fell 22 percent to US$22 million in 2020. European funding also fell more than 60 percent, from US$3.4 million in 2019 to US$1.3 million in 2020.

Only two areas of prevention R&D funding showed small increases in funding, including:

Treatment as Prevention (TasP): Long neglected in HIV prevention investment, funding for TasP R&D increased from $1.7million to US$9 million in 2020. The increase came from philanthropy, notably the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (US$5 million) and the Wellcome Trust (US$1 million).

While TasP R&D funding is small overall, this increase is a hopeful sign that TasP may once again receive its appropriate focus as priority for HIV prevention research.

Microbicides: After multiple years of decline, investment in microbicide R&D registered a very small increase (0.4 percent or US$ 0.6 million) to US$145 million in 2020. Concerningly, there is even less diversity in microbicide funding than in HIV prevention R&D overall, with the public sector providing 99 percent of microbicide R&D resources.

While this tiny increase is a hopeful sign, it does not match the scope of the promise of this approach. One key product, the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring, is now recommended by the WHO as an additional HIV prevention option. In addition, a range of promising microbicide strategies are under investigation. One, a 90-day dual-purpose vaginal ring designed to confer both contraceptive and HIV protection, was found to be effective in early testing.

Pandemic preparedness requires greater investment in HIV, other current health crises

“The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that when there’s political will, global solidarity, and significant financial investments, rapid developments of new prevention technologies such as vaccines happen,” said Shannon Hader, deputy executive director of programme, UNAIDS. “This is the time to mobilize investments in HIV service delivery/prevention research and galvanize momentum to achieve the broader 2025 AIDS targets.”

Methodology: HIV prevention R&D investment figures are collected annually by the Resource Tracking for HIV Prevention R&D Working Group through an email survey. For the present report, the Working Group reached out from February to June 2020 to 215 funders in the public, philanthropic and commercial sectors. Two different types of resource flows were tracked: investments, defined as annual disbursements by funders; and, when available, expenditures, defined as resources directly spent on R&D activities by funding recipients. More information about the report methodology is at www.hivresourcetracking.org/about/methodology.

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About the Resource Tracking Working Group: In its 16th annual report, the Resource Tracking for HIV Prevention Research & Development Working Group (“Working Group”) documents research and development spending for the calendar year 2020 and analyzes funding trends spanning twenty years. The Working Group is led by AVAC in partnership with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and UNAIDS.

WHO Wants To Hear From PrEP Providers

WHO is conducting a survey among people delivering PrEP for HIV prevention. If you are involved in any step of PrEP provision (as a physician, clinical officer, nurse, pharmacist, lay provider, etc.), please consider completing this survey to support WHO in its work on PrEP. Click here for the survey in English. The survey is also available in French or Spanish. You can change the language in the top right corner at any time.

Please share this survey with anyone in your networks who delivers PrEP services, including PrEP providers in any type of service. An individual can only complete the survey once. The survey takes 15-20 minutes to complete. The aim is to gather information on how PrEP is provided in practice and perspectives on new PrEP products. Responses to the survey will be anonymized and not attributed to any individual or PrEP service.

The survey will be closed on 26 November 23.59 CET. If you have any questions, please contact Robin Schaefer at WHO: [email protected].

Thank you so much for your time. Your responses will be critical to inform WHO global guidance on PrEP.

Integration of HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Era of ARV-Based Prevention: Findings from assessments in Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe

New research from AVAC and partners shows promising approaches to reach adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) with comprehensive and integrated services for HIV and sexual and reproductive health (SRH), including expanding access to existing and future PrEP products. On October 14, 8-9am ET, join us and representatives from the Ministries of Health in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia for a webinar to discuss findings, progress to date and context-specific realities. Register here.

Access to the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring: A timeline on progress

This infographic shows the timeline of progress for end user access to Dapivirine Vaginal Ring.

PEPFAR-Funded PrEP and VMMC Services in 14 Priority Countries

This infographic shows that PEPFAR’s increased investment and creation of a budget code resulted in improved scale-up of VMMC (VMMC). A budget code could have the same impact if applied to PrEP initiations.