AVAC’s Most Downloaded Resources of 2024

From the implementation of DoxyPEP to the game-changing trial results of lenacapavir for PrEP, 2024 has been a landmark year for advancements in HIV and STI prevention. AVAC’s most downloaded resources capture these pivotal milestones, offering essential insights and tools to power your advocacy. Dive into the highlights and stay informed about the strategies shaping the future of HIV prevention.

AVAC’s Top 10

This episode of PxPulse looks at why and how the decisions that shape global health must be made by those facing the greatest risks. As the world evaluates the pandemic response and debates on decolonizing global health gain momentum, equity in global health has never been more urgent.

This graphic shows currently available options for HIV prevention, newly approved and recommended treatment, and those in development.

This plan provides a broad view of all the moving parts and identifies actions and actors responsible for ensuring time is not wasted and opportunity not squandered.

This PxPulse podcast episode goes deep on LEN for PrEP. Recorded just days before Gilead’s announcement that PURPOSE 2 also found very high efficacy, Dr. Flavia Kiweewa, a principal investigator of the first trial to announce efficacy, lays out the research findings and what they mean. And Chilufya Kasanda Hampongo of Zambia’s Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign and Mitchell Warren of AVAC talk about how to change a long history of squandered opportunities to get rollout right.

This report examines disbursements by the U.S. NIH and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is one of few reports to track funding trends in vaccine and diagnostics R&D, and pipeline investments for some of the most common STIs.

Led by AVAC alongside a network of partners, the People’s Research Agenda 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.

This roadmap aims to build on existing progress while accelerating the pace of HIV prevention. With anticipated regulatory approvals and production scaling, this plan targets over 2.5 million LEN users in low- and middle-income countries by 2027. It focuses on structural barriers and integration of generics into national programs.

Good Participatory Practice Guidelines  have been shaping and improving clinical research since 2007. They provide a global reference guide for ethical and effective stakeholder engagement, helping ensure the priorities of trial participants and their communities are centered in clinical trials and broader research agendas.

DoxyPEP is a post-exposure prophylaxis used to prevent the acquisition of some bacterial STIs after sex. This advocates’ guide addresses questions regarding who will benefit most from DoxyPEP and how to implement this strategy broadly to ensure equitable access.

In 2024, Gilead Sciences released findings from the PURPOSE 1 and PURPOSE 2 trials testing lenacapavir (LEN) as HIV prevention. This advocates’ primer provides background on the product and trials; a summary of the early findings of PURPOSE 1 & 2; key questions and next steps.

Avac Event

CROI 2025

The 32nd annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) will take place from March 9-12 in San Francisco, California. CROI is the go-to forum for groundbreaking science in the HIV field, and this years program will be full of groundbreaking research.

Avac Event

African Workshop on HIV & Women 2025

The inaugural edition of the African Workshop on HIV & Women will take place in hybrid format on 27 – 28 February 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The time zone that will be used for this meeting is East Africa Time (EAT). If you need to convert the times to your timezone, this website might be of interest to you: www.WorldTimeBuddy.com.

This exciting new initiative is a regional workshop paired to the annual “International Workshop on HIV & Women”. It is an outstanding opportunity for both local and international healthcare providers, researchers, government, industry, and community representatives to discuss and further increase their knowledge on the issues related to HIV and women living in Africa.

The primary purpose of this workshop is to support changes that will provide a better quality of life for women living with HIV and reduce HIV transmissions in the region.

The format of the workshop enables attendees to learn from renowned HIV experts, discuss challenges, gaps, and opportunities for further learning and research. The debates and roundtables are an especially important vehicle to discuss issues and challenge dogma.

The workshop also provides a forum for early-career investigators to present their research and to personally meet with experts they view as mentors and inspiration for their work.

The meeting organizers hope this workshop will catalyze forming a community, where attendees continue to participate yearly and form valuable relationships and partnerships that lead to collaborative projects and positive changes.

Avac Event

I Am More Than HIV Prevention – Results from the HPTN 091 Study with Transgender Women

HPTN 091, the I Am study, evaluated the impact of a multicomponent HIV prevention strategy to increase the uptake and adherence of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among transgender women. The strategy included HIV prevention services, gender-affirming hormone therapy, and peer health navigation.

This webinar featured Dr. Tonia Poteat, study co-investigator, who will review the study findings and discuss implications.

Speakers:

Tonia Poteat, Ph.D., Duke University School of Nursing, Division of Healthcare in Adult Populations

This webinar featured Portuguese and Spanish translation thanks to HPTN.

Video Recording and English Audio / Spanish Audio / Portuguese Audio / Slides / Resources

Introducing the Gears of Lenacapavir Rollout and The People’s Research Agenda

This World AIDS Day, the HIV/AIDS response stands at a crossroads, with injectable lenacapavir set to transform HIV prevention. But as the new UNAIDS report highlights, it also comes at the same time as restrictive policies, economic instability, and geopolitical challenges threaten to frustrate access and rollback so much of the progress that has been achieved over the past two decades.

AVAC’s 2025 advocacy agenda prioritizes collaboration and strategies for equitable and accelerated product introduction that maximize the public health potential of new prevention options and simultaneously sustains investment in critical research and development. AVAC’s newest publication, The Gears of Lenacapavir for PrEP Rollout, provides a clear pathway for the speed, scale and equity needed to translate exciting science into public health impact, while our recent The People’s Research Agenda (PRA) meets this high-stakes moment for HIV prevention with a clear, concise and collaboratively developed set of priorities for how prevention research should be conducted and what products should be developed in the future.

Despite the challenges, 2025 holds immense potential for ensuring the equitable rollout of new options and the accelerated development of a pipeline of additional options, the combination of which can help move the field closer to ending HIV/AIDS. 

For the latest information on injectable lenacapavir for PrEP, be sure to join us for our webinar Tuesday, December 3. And read more below about both the Gears of LEN for PrEP Rollout and The People’s Research Agenda.

The Gears of Lenacapavir for PrEP Rollout: Driving Speed, Scale, and Equity

Lenacapavir’s rollout is not just about making a new drug available as quickly as possible; it is about ensuring that it reaches the people who need it most, as swiftly and equitably as possible. Gilead has announced its readiness to manufacture up to 10 million doses for 2026, but this potential hinges on coordinated action by governments, donors, and civil society. The roadmap outlines the essential gears driving this effort, from robust demand generation and procurement strategies to equitable distribution and community-driven implementation. Crucially, the roadmap emphasizes lessons learned from previous PrEP interventions: that availability alone is not enough. With global HIV targets still unmet and disparities persisting, this effort demands decisive action and long-term planning.

Download the infographic

The People’s Research Agenda: A Community-Driven Vision

The People’s Research Agenda (PRA) brings the voices of affected communities to the forefront of HIV prevention research and product development. With limited resources, the stakes for decisions about which products to develop and eventually deliver become even higher for funders, communities, policy makers and governments. The PRA offers a bold vision for aligning scientific innovation with community needs. By amplifying the perspectives of those most affected by the epidemic, the PRA is a tool for driving accountability among funders, developers, and policymakers. As a living, adaptable framework, it ensures that evolving needs and challenges in the prevention landscape remain at the center of decision-making.

A Call to Action

The rollout of lenacapavir and the implementation of the PRA come at a critical moment in the global HIV/AIDS response. Achieving their full potential will require sustained collaboration, strategic investments, and unwavering commitment to equity. Together, we can transform this pivotal moment into lasting progress.

Advocacy: Now more than ever

We are in a period of profound uncertainty, remarkable progress and tremendous concern—for the state of the world, for the state of global health and HIV, and for the specific work that AVAC and our partners do. We’ve seen incredible advances in biomedical prevention in 2024 with the introduction of the dapivirine vaginal ring (DVR) and injectable cabotegravir (CAB) for PrEP and the spectacular clinical trial results of injectable lenacapavir—the combination of which could transform lives if rolled out with speed, scale and equity.

For many of us, the unfolding developments in the United States, which continue to ripple across the global health community, are sparking anxiety around whether we can sustain the progress the field has made over decades while continuing to develop effective HIV prevention options and ensure access to those options for everyone who needs and wants them.

At AVAC, we see strength in staying focused on developing what we need and delivering what we have. We are doubling down on delivering high-quality, impactful work, supported by ongoing collaboration with our partners to meet our mission in a shifting environment.

Your help is instrumental to the success of this work. If you appreciate our insights, resources, infographics, coalition-building, and evidence- and rights-based advocacy, please consider making a contribution to ensure that this work can continue.

As we recognize World AIDS Day this weekend and next week’s #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back, we ask you to consider supporting AVAC so that we and our partners can continue to deliver the effective and impactful advocacy that is needed now more than ever. This means continuing to put people and communities at the center of our work, ensuring that the global response is connected to the real needs of affected people.

Many thanks in advance for your partnership and support.

Advancing Choice and Equity: New tools and a changing landscape

As a new US presidential administration takes shape, our commitment to championing choice, science, and rights remains unwavering. This critical moment demands intentional strategies to protect progress in HIV prevention and global health equity while staying true to our mission and values.

Given the concerning rise of health misinformation on X (formerly Twitter), we must find new ways to share accurate, science-based information. Starting this week, we’ll begin to transition our presence to BlueSky, an open-source alternative to X, alongside Instagram and Facebook. Learn more about Blue Sky here and be sure to follow us.

Read on for the latest insights on CAB for PrEP and new resources on PrEP delivery, STI R&D, and the political challenges and the priorities in 2025 and beyond.

Trials to Impact: The Latest Insights on CAB for PrEPAn Advocate’s Guide to Research in Pregnant and Lactating Populations

The Biomedical Prevention Implementation Collaborative (BioPIC) is leading an integrated and adaptable strategy to deliver new HIV prevention products, with a particular focus on longer-acting PrEP methods. The BioPIC’s Adaptable Product Introduction Framework, emphasizes the need to conduct early-stage activities alongside Phase III clinical trials, and conducts Think Tanks to pinpoint evidence gaps and share insights from modeling and implementation studies. This work is driving more effective, people-centered product delivery. Read more on recent CAB for PrEP insights and visit the Evidence Gap Tracker.

READ THE INSIGHTS

Resources on PrEP Delivery, STI R&D, and More!

Video Recording and English Audio / Ukrainian Audio / Portuguese Audio / Spanish Audio / Slides / Resources

Recording / Alison Footman Slides / Mandisa Mdingi Slides / Cécile Ventola Slides / Birgitta Gleeson Slides

KFF’s Jen Kates and AVAC’s Suraj Madoori lay out the challenges and the priorities in 2025 and beyond.

In the days, months and years ahead under a new US Presidential Administration, advocacy for choice, freedom, science, and rights will require intentional strategies to protect hard fought gains in HIV treatment and prevention and in global health generally, and to safeguard policies and programs that advance it. And there will be major implications for the global AIDS response.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

An Advocate’s Guide to Research in Pregnant and Lactating Populations

Check out our updated graphic in this advocates’ guide, which shares background on the need for research in pregnant and lactating populations and how advocates can advance inclusion.

READ MORE

An Advocate’s Guide to Research in Pregnant and Lactating Populations

A resource that provides background on the need for research in pregnant and lactating populations and how advocates can advance inclusion.

Moving a Product to the “Real World”

A visual roadmap illustrating the key stages transitioning a product from clinical trials to large-scale real-world implementation.

This Week at AVAC: US election, new LEN resources, STI pipeline and PrEP service delivery

As we continue to grapple with the results of the US presidential election and what this means for our work and for global health evidence- and rights-based policies and programs generally, we wanted to share a range of new tools and resources you may find helpful in your advocacy for choice, science and rights.