New Px Pulse Episode on LGBTQIA+ Advocacy in Uganda

Our latest podcast, LGBTQIA+ Advocacy in Uganda: Facing down fear and fighting for justice, is available now!

This episode looks at Uganda’s just-passed anti-homosexuality bill, that now awaits final action from President Museveni. The broad-reaching legislation further criminalizes LGBTQIA+ people and is part of a wave of anti-gay hate laws and actions by authorities that are sweeping across the region with recent crackdowns in Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia.

The Ugandan bill would make it a crime to even identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, with sentences up to life imprisonment. It gives authorities wide powers to crackdown on anyone who does not report on same-sex couples or who promote gay rights, including prohibitions on news coverage and media. And the law could impose death sentences in some cases, including for the transmission of HIV. Uganda’s President Museveni has the power to stop the bill. But so far he is issuing statements for other African countries to follow Uganda down this path.

This podcast episode features several leading Ugandan advocates, whose fierce and imperiled voices are readying to fight for LGBTQIA + people in Uganda, but at AVAC, we know they are fighting for all of us. Listen as they dig into the specifics of how these attacks have gained momentum and their ties to US-based religious extremists. For the full podcast episode, resources to learn more on the issue, and the archive of previous episodes, visit avac.org/px-pulse. And subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!

Uganda-based advocates are urgently organizing and raising money to challenge this law. You can donate to SMUG and Chapter Four Uganda.

Challenging a Season of Hate in 2023

A look back at the last few weeks brings a heavy heart, and, for us at AVAC, a renewed determination to fight back against a sea of reactionary policies that jeopardize healthcare and dismantle civil liberties around the world.

As our Executive Director Mitchell Warren recently told the TheBodyPro, “This is, frankly, a global pandemic. Right-wing politics, moralizing legislatures, and moralizing judicial systems are putting people’s lives at risk.”

Extremist courts and legislatures in the US and in many other countries are pursuing laws that will, at the very least, turn back time in our progress against HIV and at worst destroy the lives of whole segments of society.

In the last two weeks alone, AVAC has had to issue three statements condemning unjust, dangerous and deeply flawed legal maneuvers.

On March 24, we condemned Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2023, a more poisonous version of a 2014 attempt to further criminalize the LGBTQIA+ community. It’s also just one of condemned Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2023 several draconian anti-gay bills sweeping across Africa and the US. As Brian Kanyemba of Advocacy for Prevention of HIV and AIDS (APHA) told TheBodyPro, it’s a “Homophobic Spring”. (Watch this space for a podcast in the coming days with stunning reports from Uganda-based advocates on the fight against Uganda’s proposed anti-homosexuality law.)

Two US court rulings have since come down, each attacking access to fundamental healthcare. On March 30th, a US federal judge in Fort Worth, Texas, struck down a section of the Affordable Care Act that requires insurance coverage for many preventive services, including HIV testing and the provision of PrEP. This ruling reinforced an earlier decision that ruled PrEP provision may violate individual religious freedom. AVAC’s statement condemned this ruling that endangers access to PrEP, as well as other life-saving prevention services.

And today, we are again condemning a court ruling from a different US federal judge, this time based in Amarillo Texas, who has issued an unprecedented preliminary injunction suspending the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone, a safe and effective abortion medication approved more than 20 years ago. If this decision is allowed to stand, it will restrict access to the most widely used method of abortion and undermine the FDA’s authority on drug regulation generally.

“This decision throws open the door to reversals of other drug approvals based on one individuals’ personal or political beliefs rather than science and evidence. It’s yet another blow in a campaign to roll back bodily autonomy and human rights and cannot be allowed to stand,” said Warren. “In solidarity, we stand with the millions of individuals and families who will be affected by this highly political decision, and we stand with science and medical evidence, which is increasingly under attack in the US.”

In what has become a season of hate, we turn our eyes to the work ahead. We call on the Biden administration to take immediate action to safeguard access to every aspect of sexual, reproductive and preventive healthcare, including PrEP, mifepristone and other abortion services. We call on political leaders and health leaders in every corner of the globe to take action in solidarity with LGBTQIA+ people to protect and expand their civil rights. When fear and reaction gather momentum, we must recommit to an advocacy agenda that champions evidence-based and science-informed policy. We must join together, with clarity and solidarity, to face down the hate and build a world for all of us that is safe, healthy and just.

AVAC Condemns Court Decision that Tramples Human Rights, Endangers Evidence-Based Medical Care and Sets a Dangerous Precedent

As a global organization dedicated to health as a human right, to social justice, and to individual autonomy and choice, AVAC strongly condemns the decision by a federal judge in Texas who issued an unprecedented preliminary injunction that suspends the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone, a safe and effective abortion medication approved more than 20 years ago. If this decision is allowed to stand, it will restrict access to the most widely used method of abortion and undermine the FDA’s authority on drug regulation generally.

A counter ruling issued shortly after the Texas decision by a judge in Washington state called for the FDA to maintain access to mifepristone. It is unclear how these competing rulings will play out, but it is assumed this will force the issue to the Supreme Court where it is uncertain how a conservative majority may rule.

“The Texas decision throws open the door to reversals of other drug approvals based on one individuals’ personal or political beliefs rather than science and evidence. It’s yet another blow in a campaign to roll back bodily autonomy and human rights and cannot be allowed to stand,” said Mitchell Warren, AVAC’s executive director. “In solidarity, we stand with the millions of individuals and families who will be affected by this highly political decision, and we stand with science and medical evidence, which is increasingly under attack in the US.”

More than 20 years ago, the FDA reviewed the scientific evidence and approved mifepristone for medication abortion as a safe and effective product. In the intervening time, a tremendous amount of additional evidence has been added to the safety and efficacy profile of the drug, and its effective use outside of a clinic setting.

“The FDA’s job is to evaluate reams of scientific evidence and conduct unbiased, stringent review of new drugs and devices.” said Suraj Madoori, AVAC’s director of policy advocacy. “Friday’s ruling would take decision-making out of the hands of experts and put it into the hands of misguided activist judges, endangering access to other FDA-approved medications. AVAC is especially concerned about implications for access to contraception, treatments used by transgender individuals and HIV prevention drugs.”

“The FDA is recognized as the global leader in stringent, objective review of drugs and devices. Today’s ruling not only endangers public health and access to safe, effective medication, it jeopardizes our national standing and well-earned respect for our regulatory body,” said Madoori.

AVAC calls on the Biden Administration to take immediate action to safeguard access to mifepristone and to the sanctity and credibility of the nation’s drug approval process. AVAC also calls for appellate courts and the Supreme Court to uphold the FDA’s jurisdiction over drug regulation.

“This decision cannot be allowed to stand. AVAC commits to working with our partners and allies to ensure that the right to access evidence-based medical care is not infringed and that the right to abortion, and reproductive rights overall, are protected for all,” Warren added.

Avac Event

How to Communicate about Sexual Health and STIs: Sex positivity vs. risk-based language

Thursday, April 20 at 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM ET

Join The Choice Agenda for a conversation focused on sex positivity and risk-based language when discussing sexual health and STIs.

Speakers include Dr. Keosha T. Bond, CUNY School of Medicine, Dr. Joseph Cherabie, Washington University St. Louis, Mark Kaigwa, Nendo, and moderated Alison Footman, AVAC

Webinar co-sponsored by the American Sexual Health Association.

Click here to convert the time to your location.

Register here.

This webinar is a part of The Choice Agenda.

engage.avac.org

The Engage platform was created to support stakeholders looking to find community, increase their understanding on a topic or connection with others to create and implement advocacy action around clinical research and implementation.

COMPASS Africa Campaigns: Building CSO power and impact Infographic

Avac Event

Global PPPR Equity: Why do we need agreements on IP and tech transfers?

April 6, 2023, 9:00AM Washington/2:00PM London/4:00PM Nairobi

Over the past two decades, HIV advocates have engaged in hard battles for equitable access to HIV/AIDS drugs and prevention options and have had some big wins. The process of these negotiations has led to strong relationships that have enshrined certain equity provisions as standard in clinical trials and manufacturing of HIV drugs. Through these battles, we’ve learned clear lessons on the necessity for such agreements and what’s required to secure them.

Throughout global PPPR agreements in 2023, governments and advocates in the Global South are asking for provisions on equity in the form of temporary IP waivers, mandatory tech transfer, and mandatory licensing for pandemic tools.

This panel will discuss lessons from the HIV epidemic and explore why governments of the Global South and advocates think we still need to address ‘the IP question’.

Featured Speakers: Fifa Rahman, Brook Baker, Fitsum Lakew, and moderated by Samantha Rick, AVAC

Register here.

Avac Event

PrEP That Booty: The latest on rectal microbicide research for the back door

Thursday, June 29 at 9:00 AM–10:30AM ET

Most of what we hear about regarding the HIV prevention pipeline is about long-acting, longer-acting, and even longer-acting products that deliver drug throughout the body and require a trained clinician to deliver. However, these attributes are not desirable to many folks, and communities want a range of choices. Researchers and advocates for years have been working on HIV prevention products specifically for the back door (rectum) to provide protection during anal intercourse. These products are user-controlled, non-systemic (the drug stays in the booty and only the booty), and are short-acting, so you don’t have to commit to having a prevention drug in your body for a year or longer. Join us for a dynamic discussion regarding the latest research on Booty PrEP – aka rectal microbicides – with our multi-talented panel.

Speakers include: Jonathan Baker, PA, Laser Surgery Care, Dr. Craig Hendrix, Johns Hopkins, Juan Michael Porter II, The Body, and Dr. Sharon Riddler, University of Pittsburgh

Register here.

Avac Event

PrEP (In)equity: Documenting, measuring, and flipping the script towards justice

Tuesday, May 9 at 9:00 AM–10:30AM ET

Disparities in PrEP awareness, access, and uptake are stark in the United States, and play out along lines of race, gender, age, and geography. While we see increases in PrEP uptake overall, these metrics tend to mask the fact that the people who most need PrEP are not to be found in those numbers. As we see new modes of PrEP delivery become available, we are concerned these “shiny new things” will be yet another way to measure disparities and not actually help those who most need it. We must focus on these inequities with laser-like intensity, allocate resources using an equity model, and strive harder for PrEP justice.

Speakers include: Leisha-McKinley Beach, National HIV/AIDS Consultant, Michael Chancley, PrEP4All, and Dr. Patrick Sullivan, Emory

Register here.

Avac Event

PrEP In Black America: New Orleans

PrEP is a tool to effectively prevent HIV, but despite FDA approval in 2012, only 9 percent of Black people who could benefit from PrEP have received it. To address dismal PrEP utilization rates in the Black community, Black HIV prevention advocates convened in Atlanta, GA for the first PrEP In Black America Summit. With community input from the summit, we published “For Us, By Us: PrEP In Black America: A Master Plan For HIV Prevention In Black America” which outlined key recommendations for stakeholders to implement to increase racial equity in PrEP uptake.

Join Black HIV prevention advocates from across the U.S. for the second interactive PrEP In Black America Summit in New Orleans, LA on May 19, as we develop and build on existing strategies to increase PrEP access and awareness in the Black community.

Thanks to sponsorship from Red Hot Organization, registration for the summit is FREE, including a lunch. Due to a limit of 200 attendees, please register once you have confirmed that you will be able to attend in person on May 19, 2023. We will also have a live, interactive virtual option to attend. For more information, visit prep4all.org/prepinblackamerica.

More information including registration here.