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STI & HIV World Congress (ISSTDR) 2023

The STI & HIV World Congress (also known as ISSTDR) kicks off in Chicago, Illinois, USA and AVAC will be there. This is the first major face-to-face meeting of STI & HIV professionals since 2019 and one of the only spaces the global STI community comes together to promote ongoing STI research efforts and exchange information on current investigations. This is also the first time AVAC is attending ISSTDR in hopes of expanding STI advocacy and community engagement.

STI & HIV World Congress Resources 

Visit STIWatch.org, a new resource for the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) community to better understand and advocate for STI vaccine and diagnostics research, development and rollout.

STI & HIV World Congress 2023 Roadmap

Check out some AVAC-featured sessions below.

The STI Prevention Pipeline: Where Are We, and What Will It Take to Move Forward Faster?
Monday, July 24 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM in the Cadmium Room
Join us to explore the current development and implementation stages of STI vaccines and diagnostics and identify ways to accelerate research through advocacy.

Symposium: New Vaccine Approaches to STI Prevention STI Vaccine Acceptance and Equity
Tuesday, July 25 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM in Chicago 6
Join AVAC’s Alison Footman to dive into the topic of STI vaccines and equity as new interventions come into reach.

Setting Up a Remote/Home Testing STI Programme: A Practical Toolkit
Thursday, July 25 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM in Sheraton IV/V Room
Join us to explore the power of remote testing to affordably curb STI acquisitions.

Community Happy Hour 
Monday, July 24, 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Lizzie McNeill’s
Join AVAC and partners for a no frills happy hour for the STI community. All are welcome! 

ISSTDR Advocacy Zone 
Monday, July 24 to Thursday, July 27 at the Exhibit Hall
Visit the Advocacy Zone, a space to ask important questions, connect with fellow STI advocates, and begin to chart next steps in advancing STI R&D.

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 jimberlypickett@gmail.com.

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 at the 2023 Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit

The Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit, now in its seventh year, will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 11-12. This annual meeting focuses on biomedical interventions for treatment and prevention of HIV and approaches to implementation of these tools to end the epidemic.

This year’s theme highlights the role of sex and pleasure and includes a plenary featuring advocacy to right the wrongs of a failed US federal PrEP response with a US National PrEP Program.

AVAC and partners are involved in a number of sessions and activities; scroll down for information on these and click here to check out the full conference agenda.

And finally, be sure to follow our Twitter feed, @HIVpxresearch, Tuesday, April 11, when our Senior Program Manager for Policy, John Meade Jr., takes it over to report on the meeting live from Las Vegas.

AVAC and Partners at the Biomedical Prevention Summit

Tuesday, April 11:

10:30 to 12:00 PM PDT: No Data No More: A research scorecard for transgender inclusion
Session 1 Workshop
If we are to end the epidemic, we need biomedical research data that are representative of transgender communities. AVAC has designed a Scorecard tool with which to hold researchers accountable for the meaningful inclusion of transgender people in all HIV clinical trials. Join this session to learn how milestone HIV studies from 1991-the present have scored on transgender inclusion—and how you can ensure “No Data No More.”

4:30 to 6:00 PM EDT: Long-Acting Injectables: Revolutionary prevention drugs require revolutionary adaptations in delivery
Session 3 Workshop
Current delivery models for longer-acting injectable (LAI) PrEP require consumers to travel to outpatient settings and be seen by providers qualified to deliver injections. Yet, many providers serving HIV-impacted populations do not have sufficient capacity to offer LAI PrEP at the volume necessary to end the epidemic. Additionally, structural barriers and serious inequities within the United States healthcare system prevent many from engaging in HIV prevention. This workshop will explore how the HIV prevention community can draw lessons from other fields to successfully develop, advocate for, and implement alternative delivery models for LAI to increase access, and realize the promise of these revolutionary interventions.

4:30 to 6:00 PM PDT: PrEP in Black America: An equity movement in HIV prevention
Session 3 Workshop
Black people in the US bear a disproportionate burden of HIV, representing approximately 13 percent of the population while comprising more than 40 percent of incident HIV diagnoses in 2019. Despite this, biomedical HIV prevention tools remain underutilized by Black people and more than 90 percent of those who can benefit from PrEP have not been prescribed PrEP. The PrEP in Black America Summit (PIBA) was convened by a cadre of Black HIV activists, advocates, leaders, and public health professionals to address these frustrating factors on the 10th anniversary of the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the first medication for biomedical HIV prevention. Summit leaders gathered more than 150 individuals, in person and virtual, in the spirit of confronting the historical injustices and race-based discrimination that continue to drive HIV and other sexual health inequities experienced by Black communities to develop a Black-focused agenda or “roadmap” for HIV prevention.

Wednesday, April 12:

10:30 to 12:00 PM PDT: CAB 4 PrEP: Opportunity for advancing equity and improving access
Session 4 Workshop
Injectable PrEP uptake in the US has the potential to reduce HIV infections, but only if its introduction can address the impediments to its implementation. Participants will engage with panelists that have experience with injectable cabotegravir in this workshop.

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PrEP Trends & the Redesigned PrEPWatch

PrEPWatch is a one-stop online clearinghouse for resources and information to help the global community effectively deliver every proven method of PrEP to everyone who needs it. This webinar explored the newly relaunched site and walked through some of the latest features including better-than-ever curation, navigation, and search. We heard from leading advocates on what’s in the pipeline for prevention products and trends happening in PrEP uptake and delivery.

Recording / Slides / Resources

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What Does the Future Hold for Long Acting Injectable PrEP?

With long-acting injectable PrEP coming to market, how can we mitigate barriers and adopt the intervention widely in high-risk settings? On Wednesday, November 10, Evidence to Action, the webinar series hosted by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), heard from experts at Johns Hopkins University, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), AVAC, Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM), and EGPAF on what’s new in PrEP, the present and future of long-acting injectables, what actions to take for optimal implementation and how we can better enable access in key populations.

Speakers to Include:

  • Opening Remarks: Anja Giphart, EGPAF

  • An overview of long-acting technologies and strategies in development for PrEP: Charles Flexner, Johns Hopkins University of Medicine

  • Reflecting on implementation of biomedical prevention interventions to date in the context of implementation of long-acting injectables and new products: Robyn Eakle, USAID

  • Priority actions to enable uptake of new products: Mitchell Warren, AVAC

  • How this will effect key populations and how we work alongside key pops to drive awareness around technical and practical aspects: Midnight Poonkasetwatana, APCOM

  • Concerns about making long term decisions on medication in the postpartum period: Dee Mphafi, EGPAF Youth Advocate

  • Moderated Discussion: Natella Rakhmanina, EGPAF

Downloads:

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Webinar: Oral PrEP Implementation and Implications for Next Generation PrEP

This webinar discussed insights from oral PrEP programs and how these experiences can inform faster, smarter and more affordable rollout of next-generation HIV prevention products. It featured:

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  • AVAC’s Jessica Rodrigues opened the meeting with background on PrEP uptake globally and regionally, noting that due to rapid scale-up, approximately 69 percent of cumulative PrEP initiations have now occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa. (View the slides.)
  • Saiqa Mullick of Wits RHI shared lessons from South Africa’s experience scaling up oral PrEP from 2016, when PrEP was offered only to sex workers at a handful of clinics, to 2021, with PrEP broadly available in more than 2,000 public health facilities. (View slides.)
  • Daniel Were of Jhpiego described the Jilinde Project’s successful efforts to increase demand and dismantle stigma surrounding PrEP. (View slides.)
  • Joseph Murungu of Pangaea Zimbabwe AIDS Trust (PZAT) shared a dynamic, client-centered approach to ensure that PrEP programs respond to the needs of young people. (View slides.)

Watch the recording / Read the summary

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Are We PrEPared this Time? Ensuring a Swift Translation of Research into Community Impact

First approved in 2012, roll out of oral PrEP has been slow, uneven, and marked by troubling and unacceptable uptake disparities across race/ethnicity, gender and geography. In 2019, less than 25 percent of people eligible for PrEP in the US received a prescription. Late last year, the US FDA approved a new PrEP agent called Apretude, an injectable, longer-acting PrEP option. While hopes are high for this intervention, it is replete with challenges from both the user as well as the delivery sides of the equation.

The AIDS Foundation Chicago, AVAC and an array of speakers spoke on what must happen to ensure swift translation of positive research results into community impact. What follows are a set of resources from the webinar.

Resources

Recording / Slides

Sign On Letter
Requesting that the Biden administration include in his upcoming budget request $400 million to create a National PrEP Grant Program. Organizations can sign here.

Resources Shared

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HPTN 084 Primary Study Results Webinar

The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) hosted a community webinar to discuss the primary results of HPTN 084, a randomized, double-blind controlled trial designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB LA) to prevent the sexual acquisition of HIV in cisgender women in sub-Saharan Africa.

Participants

  • Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, MBBCh, Ph.D., DTM&H
    HPTN 084 Protocol Chair
    Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Insitute,
    University of the Witswatersrand
  • Mina Hosseinipour, MD, MPH
    HPTN 084 Protocol Co-Chair
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine,
    UNC Project-Malawi

View the recording.

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Developments in the HIV Prevention Pipeline: PrEP, vaccines and more

On April 12, 2021, AVAC, EATG, PrEP in Europe, and PrEPster invited community educators and advocates involved in HIV biomedical prevention service delivery to participate in an e-meeting.

New PrEP modalities and service delivery models are on the horizon, with promising findings from recent clinical trials. Current and potential PrEP-users could soon have access to options beyond, but in addition to, oral PrEP; such as cabotegravir long-acting injectables and the islatravir monthly pill, among other ARV formulations and delivery mechanisms such as implants that are in earlier phases. There is also an entirely new class of HIV treatment, broadly neutralising antibodies (bNAbs), that have recently undergone their first efficacy trial as PrEP.

This e-meeting provided community educators and advocates with a concise summary of existing and future PrEP formulations, and a community-level perspective on strategic advocacy within regulatory frameworks to increase community PrEP access and uptake.

Webinar Agenda

  • 13:00-13:05 Welcome and introduction (Gus Cairns, PiE)
  • 13:05-13:20 The PrEP pipeline: beyond daily oral TDF/FTC PrEP (Cindra Feuer, AVAC)
  • 13:20-13:35 Antibodies and vaccines (Penny Moore, University of the Witwatersrand)
  • 13:35-13:50 Community level advocacy and access (Michael Meullbroek & Ferran Pujol, BCN Checkpoint)
  • 13:50-14:05 Q&A (Moderated by Will Nutland, PrEPster)
  • 14:05-14:25 Moderated discussion (Moderated by Will Nutland, PrEPster)
  • 14:25-14:30 Meeting wrap-up (Gus Cairns, PiE)

Recording and Slides: YouTube / PrEP in Europe Initiative’s Slides

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Long-Acting Injectable Cabotegravir for PrEP: Understanding Results of HPTN 083 & 084 and key areas for advocacy

[UPDATE]: In December of 2021, the FDA approved CAB-LA as PrEP, making it the first injectable PrEP to be added to the toolbox of proven prevention methods. The other methods are male and female condoms, daily oral PrEP, voluntary medical male circumcision and the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring.

On May 3, AVAC held a webinar where you can listen to the researchers who led the studies about long-acting injectable PrEP strategy and advocates who are leading essential advocacy efforts around the introduction of CAB-LA.

On the call, lead trial investigators Sinead Delany-Moretlwe from HPTN 084 and Raphy Landovitz from HPTN 083 provided updates, and we were joined by AVAC’s Emily Bass, Chiluyfa Kasanda from TALC in Zambia, Richard Lusimbo from Pan Africa ILGA, and Sibongile Maseko who is an independent consultant and women’s health advocate based in Eswatini.

Recording and Slides: YouTube / Civil Society Advocates’ Slides / Sinead Delaney-Moretlwe’s Slides / Raphy Landovitz’s Slides