Reporting the African Science Story: Decoding scientific research to support public health in Africa
Eastern time zone
Generating compelling and nuanced media stories on health and science depends on strong connections between researchers and providers, journalists reporting the story, and civil society and community members who have critical perspectives to share. Researchers need skills to explain science in plain language and be open to questions. Civil society and affected communities are also a crucial component to strong news coverage, providing advocacy perspectives that capture the full impact of a given issue.
Since 2012, AVAC has worked to support health journalist associations in East and Southern Africa to strengthen the capacity of journalists to report on HIV prevention research. In 2020, AVAC expanded this work to include COVID science. Through the Media Science Café Program, AVAC partners with health media associations in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe to bring journalists together with researchers, implementers, civil society, policy makers, regulators and policy makers to build relationships that will foster accurate reporting of HIV, COVID and other science or health stories in those countries.
The monthly cafés are structured as informal meetings with 20-30 journalists and expert speakers. Experts in the field gather to present and discuss timely health topics.
Moderators: Kay Marshall, AVAC Zarina Geloo, Zambia Media Cafe Convener
Speakers: Esther Nakkazi, Uganda Media Cafe Convener Anna Miti, Zimbabwe Media Cafe Convener
As we look ahead to 2024 and the vital work AVAC and partners will be carrying forward, the conversations from 2023 offer guidance and insights. Px Pulse, AVAC’s podcast on critical issues facing HIV prevention research, hosted several not-be-missed conversations in 2023 that will reverberate into the year ahead.
From a stalled PEPFAR reauthorization to LGBTQIA+ voices fighting persecution in Uganda; from efforts to bring equity to a new global architecture for pandemic readiness to advances in HIV vaccine science and advocacy to include pregnant people in research—we hope that all of these conversations can inform our advocacy in 2024. Click on the episode for both recordings and resources.
Considered one of the greatest US foreign policy and global development achievements of the century, the program has saved upwards of 25 million lives since it launched in 2003. But PEPFAR is marking its 20th anniversary while fighting for its future. LISTEN HERE.
In March 2023, the Ugandan Parliament moved forward broad-reaching legislation to further criminalize LGBTQIA+ people. This podcast features Ugandan advocates and AVAC partners discussing the specifics of how these attacks have gained momentum and their ties to US-based religious extremists. The advocates discuss what needs to happen next. LISTEN HERE.
Health leaders around the world are in the midst of creating a new architecture to deal with pandemics. Chris Collins, the CEO and President at Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, talks about what’s at stake, which policymakers get it already, why this year matters so much, and what advocates can do about it. LISTEN HERE.
Over the coming months, global leaders will make key decisions about several initiatives to prepare for the next pandemic. This podcast explores what they commit to, how much they will spend and how well these plans safeguard equity. LISTEN HERE.
AVAC’s Manju Chatani-Gada takes us through conversations with a trial participant who became pregnant, researchers, policymakers and donors to understand why this population gets excluded, the impact it has and what to do about it. LISTEN HERE.
Evolving Strategies for an HIV Vaccine: One researcher explains where the field is going and why? Dr. Katy Stephenson explores the implications of recent trial results, the big questions driving next generation vaccine development, and new strategies underway in early phase research. LISTEN HERE.
Happy listening—and let us know what topics you want to hear more about in 2024!
The “3 Ps” of EmPowerment, Partnership and Protection
Stakeholder Perceptions of Beneficial Outcomes of Engagment in HIV Prevention Trials
This article, co-authored by AVAC’s Jessica Salzwedel, presents stakeholders’ perspectives on the beneficial outcomes of stakeholder engagement in HIV prevention trials.
Global HIV Prevention Roadmap for Key Populations
This roadmap outlines a strategy for the equitable expression and delivery of HIV prevention services to key populations (KPs) globally and regionally. It introduces a critical, coordinated approach led by KPs to accelerate the implementation of existing and new HIV prevention interventions.
AVAC Commemorates World AIDS Day
This World AIDS Day we at AVAC are reflecting on remarkable gains and increasing threats to progress against AIDS. Our latest issue of PxWire, tracking trends in research, development and delivery of HIV prevention options, speaks to this important progress:
Five countries have reached the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets with more than 29 million people accessing treatment, and global incidence continuing to decline – in some places, among some populations.
However, as we look to 2024, all these gains could be imperiled by political and financial choices facing leaders today.
Will the US Congress recognize the unparalleled success of PEPFAR and safeguard its funding through a clean 5-year reauthorization?
Will health officials and policy makers embrace the Choice Manifesto, created by HIV advocates and adopted by UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, calling for the essential investments that will bring these diverse options to the communities that need them most?
The answers to these questions will require donors and political leaders to do the right thing, and it will depend on us, a global movement of advocates with a track record of world-changing achievements, to stay the course and build the road to reach everyone one of these goals. Below are a few key resources to support your work.
From the Lab to the Jab
A series of advocates guides on key issues to ensure equitable access to safe, effective, and affordable vaccines.
POZ Magazine’s interview with Mitchell Warren, with a comprehensive look at the status of the fight against HIV/AIDS and the scientific breakthroughs to date and still needed to end the epidemic.
A Call to Action: Scale Up HPV Vaccination in People Living with HIV
In a new call to action, Mitchell Warren and Heather White, executive director of TogetHER for Health, argue that the time is now to invest in efforts to ensure that people living with HIV can live their lives without the threat of cervical cancer.
At AVAC, we believe it’s up to all of us to make sure the world does not squander another decade in slow, fragmented rollout of life-saving innovation in HIV prevention or risk underfunding research and development. If we work together to build equity into the rollout of options that exist already and support the promise of expanding choices in the near future, the world will at long last bend the curve of HIV.
AVAC and Partners at ICASA 2023
Join AVAC and partners for the biennial International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (ICASA), in Harare, Zimbabwe December 4-9. More than 30 of our partners will convene at the meeting to champion community leadership and amplify their role in shaping local, national and global responses and delivering impactful advocacy. Community leadership on a range of issues are instrumental to:
Accelerate and expand access to proven prevention options that people want and need.
Dismantle the structural barriers to health faced by key populations.
Intensify demands for robust domestic and global funding for health.
Integrate HIV services with sexual and reproductive health.
And much more.
Scroll down for a roadmap to ICASA’s prevention program, and details on sessions and events that you won’t want to miss.
Biomedical Prevention Forum 9:00-15:00 GMT The Biomedical Prevention Forum will be held as a hybrid event bringing together advocates, civil society representatives, researchers, government officials and front-line providers to explore and discuss the latest advancements, challenges, and opportunities in biomedical HIV prevention, while emphasizing the importance of choice and its transformative impact on HIV prevention efforts. This is an open event. Register here.
Key Populations Preconference 9:00-15:00 GMT The Africa Key Populations Experts Group (AKPEG), African Sex Workers Alliance (ASWA), the African Network of People Using Drugs (AfricanPUD) and African Queer Youth Initiative (AQYI) Advocates for Prevention of HIV and AIDS in Africa (APHA), Global Black Gay Men Connect (GBGMC) and partners will host a safe platform to deliberate on the state of the HIV epidemic among Key Populations and to determine the stumbling blocks for progress on the path that ends AIDS for Key Populations.
Shaping the future of choice in prevention: Gearing up for the rollout of the Dual Prevention Pill, the newest MPT in the toolbox 12:25-13:10 GMT The Dual Prevention Pill (DPP), a daily pill combining oral PrEP and combined hormonal oral contraception for dual pregnancy and HIV prevention, could be introduced in the next two years and would be the only other MPT available in addition to male and female condoms – and the first MPT containing PrEP. This session will discuss the latest learnings from the DPP Consortium, a coalition of organizations preparing for the introduction of the DPP in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Kenya.
Tuesday, December 5
Advancing Integrated Biomedical Prevention: Best Practices from Zimbabwe (Session 2) 8:45-09:30 GMT This satellite session will discuss best practices and lessons learned from the delivery of biomedical HIV prevention and Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision services as we work to further universal health coverage and robust health systems. Partners will launch a global call to action to unite, mobilize, and advocate for continued prioritized funding, sustained commitment, and strategic integration of VMMC into national and global prevention strategies.
Catalyzing a sustainable HIV prevention agenda: Approaches to expand local action on global commitments 10:45-11:30 GMT Leveraging new strategic plans for HIV prevention, including the PEPFAR’s 5-year Strategy and UNAIDS’ Prevention Road Map, this satellite session will discuss combination prevention in the context of a sustainable HIV response and highlight a variety of approaches and models that leverage country and stakeholder-led innovations to meet the challenge.
Policy, Politics and HIV Management 13:05-13:50 GMT In this oral abstract session, Princess Mharire from Pangaea Zimbabwe AIDS Trust (PZAT) will present, Beyond Metrics: How the Simple Participatory Assessment of Real Change (SPARC) Tool Provides a Holistic Approach to Advocacy Measurement, and Joseph Njowa of PZAT will share the COMPASS MERL model in a presentation, Innovative tools for planning, monitoring, and evaluation of advocacy campaigns.
Strengthen integration for better SRHR outcomes 10:45-11:30 GMT This concurrent session will feature Advocates for Prevention of HIV and AIDS in Africa’s (APHA) Yvette Raphael and will explore linkages between unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortion, and HIV.
HIV Prevention-Right Place, Right time 13:05-13:50 GMT This concurrent session will feature Maureen Luba of AVAC, Definate Nhamo of PZAT and Yvette Raphael of APHA.
AVAC and Partner Poster Presentations
Tuesday, December 5
Maximizing private pharmacies for PrEP delivery to increase uptake: Lessons learnt from the Community Retail Pharmacy Distribution Point, Ruth Akulu
Wednesday, December 6
Journalist Training: A Key Advocacy Strategy, Catherine Madebe
Perceptions on the new biomedical HIV prevention methods among adolescent girls and young women in tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe, Cleo Makura
Lessons from Crisis Response from TaNPUD in Enhancing Harm Reduction from 2015 to 2018, Marineus Mutongore
Implementing Community led Monitoring for improved quality of HIV services in Tanzania, Mathew Kawogo
Impact of social media exposure on HIV services uptake among Tanzanian Young people: Implications for enhancing the HIV response, Marineus Mutongore
Effective Strategies for Operating COWLHA support groups of Adolescents Living with HIV: Case of Mangochi and Chikwawa Districts of Malawi, Harry Madukani
Thursday, December 7
Understanding Choice of HIV Prevention Options among Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) in Zambia, Natasha Mwila
Leveraging HIV to Build a Global Health Research and Development (R&D) Equity Advocacy Agenda, John Meade
Championing advocacy for domestic resource mobilization for health research and development in Africa, Ethel Makila
Friday, December 8
Rural Youth: Underserved and Unsafe When Seeking Care, Liyema Somnono
Redefining Coalition Governance and Leadership in Support of Decolonizing Global Health: The Evolution of the COMPASS Coalition, Roberta Sutton
Collaborative Monitoring & Evaluation to Support Learning and Strengthen Advocacy Coalitions: The MERL Hub, Grace Tetteh
Realities faced by street children predisposing them to HIV and STIs in Dodoma and Dar es Salaam Cities in Tanzania, Simon Shilagwa
African Civil Society Mobilization for PEPFAR Reauthorization
Tuesday, November 28 at 7:00 AM ET
Moderator: Richard Muko,Regional Implementation Advocacy Manager, AVAC
Panelists: Joan Chamungu, Tanzanian Network of Women Living with HIV, Lawrence Khonyongwa, Malawi Network of People of Living with HIV, TBC, African Network of Youth Living with HIV, Annette Gaudino, Advocacy Coalition Manager, GAPP
Hosted by African Network of Youth Living with HIV (AY+), East African Network of AIDS Serving Organizations (EANNASO), Key Populations Trans-National Collaboration (KPTNC) and Coalition to build Momentum, Power, Activism, Strategy & Solidarity (COMPASS)
Join civil society organizations in PEPFAR recipient countries to discuss the status and political context of the current reauthorization and mobilize to call on the US Congress to recommit this life sustaining program. Bring your questions and please share this invitation widely in your relevant networks.
Pandemic Accord Briefing for Civil Society & Community Partners
The Pandemic Accord negotiations are ongoing, and should come to fruition next year. What do they mean for your work, your country, and the future of global health?
On Tuesday, November 21, 8:00 to 9:30 AM EST / 2:00 to 3:30 PM CEST, advocates came together to discuss two years of talks and what’s next to progress global health equity.
On This #GivingTuesday Support Community Leadership in HIV Prevention
Today, UNAIDS released its World AIDS Day report, Let Communities Lead. This year’s focus on community leadership is especially important to all of us at AVAC as it lies at the heart of our work for our entire 28-year history. The UNAIDS report highlights what we and our partners have raised over the years—that communities face enormous barriers, community-led responses are under-recognized, under-resourced and in so many ways, under attack.
From our almost 30 years of experience in HIV prevention advocacy, it’s clear that working in solidarity with communities is imperative to address the root causes of inequity. Community-led responses are essential components of the comprehensive approach needed to end the epidemic.
At AVAC, we are incredibly proud of our history and in our collaborative work in 2023 to champion civil society and community leadership in shaping local, national and global responses.
Today, as part of #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 described below—and is needed now more than ever.
Your support to AVAC now will ensure that we and our partners can continue putting people and communities at the center of our work, ensuring that the global response is connected to the real needs of affected people.
Advancing bold and innovative agendas for HIV prevention.
In September, the African Women’s HIV Prevention Community Accountability Board (AWCAB) launched its HIV Prevention Choice Manifesto in Kampala, Uganda. The manifesto represents a historic milestone in the power of community leadership to re-frame the global discussion around community priorities. The manifesto calls for political will and financial investment to ensure access to the prevention options that women and girls in Africa say that they want. AVAC worked closely with partners to establish this coalition and catalyze its advocacy.
Supporting communities to engage in the science of HIV and process of R&D.
The Good Participatory Practice (GPP) guidelines co-developed by AVAC and UNAIDS nearly 15 years ago have become a field-wide standard for broad and inclusive stakeholder engagement in clinical trial research. At AVAC, we train trial staff on the guidelines, support their adaptation to other fields, prepare and support advocates in applying GPP in trial communities, and engage with the research community and ethics boards to maximize their use. Our new GPP Body of Evidence, takes this a step further, offering GPP resources to advocates that demonstrate its power, show how it can be measured and replicated, and provide GPP training, tools and connection to everyone involved in the research enterprise.
Improving how, when and to whom prevention is delivered.
Developing—and delivering—a rich pipeline of options for HIV prevention must be guided by community priorities that define what products are needed and how they are delivered for impact. In a new opinion editorial published today in South Africa’s Bhekisisa, AVAC’s Wawira Nyagah and Mitchell Warren lay out essential lessons to ensure that a broad range of prevention options that people want and need are developed, tested and distributed equitably, at scale and with urgency. “The world cannot afford to squander another decade through slow, fragmented rollout of life-saving HIV prevention. With longer-lasting options now becoming available… the world could finally bend the curve of HIV—but only if investment and planning for delivery are as evidence-based, person-centered and innovative as research and development in new products.”
Supporting a robust partner network that puts prevention on national and global agendas.
Effective coordination and balanced partnerships are key to creating a policy environment, accelerating ethical product development and advocating for equitable access to emerging health solutions. AVAC partners with a global movement of advocates to bring community voices, sustained attention and greater accountability to science, policy, funding, media, health services and regulatory processes. We are proud of the skills and power-sharing and impact-oriented advocacy that has expanded and refined prevention targets, accelerated development of guidelines and reshaped policies and programs through our long-standing Advocacy Fellows program, the Coalition to build Momentum, Power, Activism, Strategy & Solidarity (COMPASS) Africa and the Coalition to Accelerate and Support Prevention Research (CASPR).
Fighting to keep community priorities at the center of global health.
The Coalition of Advocates for Global Health and Pandemic Preparedness is tracking the issues, keeping civil society informed, and developing tools and resources. These efforts are essential to advocacy for an integrated and holistic approach to pandemic preparedness, which depends on safeguarding equity and building on the success of the HIV response. As founding members of the coalition, we’ve been proud to fight for community priorities in the work of ACT-A, the Pandemic Fund, the Pandemic Accord, the UN High Level Meeting on PPPR, and the development of a medical countermeasures platform. AVAC published the Advocates Guide for PPPR in 2023 as a go-to resource on the issues.
It is a privilege to do the work that we do. Without communities pointing the way, the HIV response will flounder, and global health will go backwards. The strength and leadership of our partners and the communities in which we work is the foundation of our hope for HIV prevention and for global health equity. We thank you for your support.
Many thanks for your partnership, solidarity and support.
From the Lab to the Jab
This graphic shows all the steps to cross or overcome in the development of a new product — research & development, intellectual property barriers, registration with regulatory bodies and the implementation of products — along with the important role can advocates play.
