Index testing, a PEPFAR initiative that tracks the contacts of people who test positive for HIV, has potential benefits when done ethically. But index testing is presently being aggressively implemented in ways that cause harm, increase risk of violence and undermine people’s rights to consent, confidentiality and safety. Changes must be made to protect individuals and foster community trust in their healthcare system. For activists and advocates attending PEPFAR in-country retreats, this FAQ provides background and advocacy priorities.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) – Index Testing
2020 Global Targets for Prevention Will Not Be Met: Now What?
With unmet UNAIDS “Fast-Track” targets for ending the epidemic now a reality, the field faces the sobering truth that we’ve been striving towards the 90-90-90 treatment targets without the same enthusiasm, focus and commitment to primary prevention targets.
In this episode of Px Pulse, AVAC’s Emily Bass and lead author of our report Now What? talks about AVAC’s blueprint for course correcting—bold leadership, smart target-setting for HIV prevention research and implementation, and multilayered prevention programs that are centered around people. She explains why the epidemic needs a sustained response and how leaders from the highest level down to the grassroots can demand accountability and reject a “business as usual” approach.
AVAC Report 2019: One-pager
Each year, the AVAC Report frames the most pressing advocacy issues facing the HIV response. At the threshold of 2020, it’s clear that global goals for HIV prevention will miss the mark by a long shot. Now what?
This is a one-pager summarizing AVAC’s priorities for 2020. To download the full Report or see all its graphics, visit report.avac.org.
AVAC’s “3D” View of the World: 2019 and beyond
This infographic lays out AVAC’s top-line recommendations from AVAC Report 2019: Now What? The recommendations fall into three categories: deliver — prevention programs whose impact is well-measured and -defined; demonstrate — next-generation engagement for next-generation trials; develop — new targets for the post-2020 world.
Visualizing Multisectoral Prevention: The DREAMS program theory of change
This is PEPFAR’s own visualization of how its AGYW programs can effect change. It’s notable for the definition of a care package that touches on the individual and her community, and for the way it defines a range of outcomes. There isn’t anything comparable for PEPFAR’s Key Population Investment Fund, which is infusing resources into a range of countries. Some of that funding is going for ART; for primary prevention, a theory of change linked to incidence is a must. AVAC is working with allies in KPIF countries to make this demand.
Excerpted from AVAC Report 2019: Now What?
AVAC Report 2019: Now What?
Each year, the AVAC Report frames the most pressing advocacy issues facing the HIV response. At the threshold of 2020, it’s clear that global goals for HIV prevention will miss the mark by a long shot. Though important progress has been made, the crisis UNAIDS called out in 2016 persists today with new infections around 1.7 million annually, a far cry from the 2020 target of fewer than 500,000. So, we asked ourselves, Now What?, and answered with cross-cutting analysis and an advocacy agenda to match.
For more from the report, including a link to all its graphics, visit report.avac.org. A one-pager of AVAC’s 2020 priorities is also available.
An Activist’s Guide to Influencing and Monitoring KPIF Rollout
Two-page guide for advocates and activists working on the engagement of key population-led groups in the implementation planning of PEPFAR’s Key Population Investment Fund (KPIF). Includes information on the fund, KPIF countries, lead agencies in each country, activist demands and to-do list.
One Timeline, Two Stories, One Message: Putting trials and targets together
One problem with HIV prevention agendas is that they either live in an eternal present or in a far-off future. It’s “work with what we’ve got, which is condoms and VMMC and a little bit of PrEP”, or it’s “nothing can change without an AIDS vaccine”. The future depends on using what’s available, better and more widely, without ever losing sight of what’s in the pipeline.
As the figures below show, in the very same timeframe that the world will miss its critical target for incidence reduction and scale-up of primary prevention, several trials will release results that could change the future. 2020 will be a time of hope and reckoning. But only if the two stories start to be told as one.
Contraception and HIV Prevention: A clear picture of women’s needs
Women face many choices about HIV prevention and contraception. Funders and governments need to move to integrated programs that provide a variety of services in one place.
Peers are Primary: Towards a systematic approach to lay cadres
Across Treatment U=U and prevention programs, peer navigators, mentor mothers and lay counselors are recognized as essential to good services. Yet many countries don’t have clear schemas for quantifying the number of individuals needed, budgeting for their remuneration and defining the roles and responsibilities that lead to impact. Activists are working to ensure clarity by demanding from governments, funders and implementers.