As the largest funder of HIV/AIDS programming in the world, PEPFAR has the power and opportunity to move the dial. A large number of AVAC partners and other civil society organizations in Eastern and Southern Africa heard the call for comments and suggestions for the new strategy—and responded here with seven key priorities.
Seven Global Civil Society Priorities for the 2021-2025 President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Strategy
Calling on the Biden Administration to Scale Up mRNA Vaccine Manufacturing Capacity
This joint letter calls on the Biden Administration to rapidly scale up mRNA vaccine manufacturing capacity to reach approximately 4 billion people by the end of 2021.
Evolving Designs for HIV Prevention Trials
There are more biomedical strategies available for HIV prevention than ever before. At the same time, research is continuing. Trials must be able to test new tools and meet ethical standards by providing participants with the best available prevention package.
Special Interview with AVAC’s Micheal Ighodaro
This episode of Px Pulse, Special Interview with AVAC’s Micheal Ighodaro, goes behind the scenes of the new HBO movie, The Legend of the Underground. The film documents the lives of AVACer Micheal Ighodaro and other LGBTQ Nigerians as they confront enormous risks to ‘live out loud’. As the movie unfolds, individual stories of resilience are woven together into a tapestry that portrays a revolution for cultural change in Nigeria.
No Data No More: Manifesto to Align HIV Prevention Research with Trans and Gender Diverse Realities
No Data No More: Manifesto to Align HIV Prevention Research with Trans and Gender Diverse Realities, written and informed by trans and gender-diverse (TGD) activists from Cape Town to Berlin, with support and solidarity from AVAC, offers practical and essential priorities for demonstrable and viable HIV interventions for TGD people.
This manifesto reflects the urgent need for peer-led HIV prevention research with true ownership and acceptability in TGD communities.
Also available: download the Manifesto summary for a snapshot of key recommendations
How can research ethics committees help to strengthen stakeholder engagement in health research in South Africa? An evaluation of REC documents
The authors recommend research ethics committees (RECs) amend their application forms to better ‘trigger’ researchers to thoughtfully plan sound stakeholder engagement. In the longer term, RECs’ documents should be better harmonised internally regarding their stance on stakeholder engagement.
Essential Principles & Practices for GPP Compliance: Engaging stakeholders in biomedical research during the era of COVID-19
This document is a new tool to help guide stakeholder engagement in COVID-19 research. Built from the Good Participatory Practice Guidelines for Biomedical HIV Prevention Trials (GPP), this document responds to needs expressed by both researchers and advocates as the world watched COVID-19 research progress with unprecedented speed and urgency.
Ethical considerations in HIV prevention trials
UNAIDS and the World Health Organization have published this updated guidance on ethical considerations in HIV prevention trials. The new guidance is the result of a year-long process that saw more than 80 experts and members of the public give inputs and is published 21 years after the first edition appeared.
COMPASS
Since 2017, the Coalition to Build Momentum, Power, Strategy and Solidarity has broken new ground in transnational HIV activism that’s grounded in rigorous analysis, fearless tactics and collaboration across geographies. We’re winning commitments and changes that will drive epidemic control. Read on to see what the future of AIDS activism looks like.
Advocates Call for Ethical Research for COVID-19 Solutions
More than 260 organizations and individuals have joined an Advocates Call for Ethical Research for COVID-19 Solutions. Read the letter reiterating the essential role of ethical research, and the need to move forward based on facts and evidence, and help us carry this message forward!