AIDS 2024 Preconference Highlights

AIDS2024, this year’s annual conference of the International AIDS Society opened with a spotlight on troubling trends. A series of preconferences took on critical topics including supporting key populations in a time of increasing discrimination; new and novel research and implementation of STI prevention and treatment, witnessing a soaring rise in incidence; and the importance of implementing new PrEP options to create more choice for people who need HIV prevention most.  

Key Populations at the Center of the Response

Breaking Barriers: Insights and Realities from Key Populations in HIV Prevention, organized by Global Black Gay Men Connect (GBGMC) and AVAC, featured the voices of speakers representing migrants, people who inject drugs, sex workers and LGBTQI+ people and the release of a new report, Making Rights a Reality: A GBGMC Roadmap. GBGMC executive director and former AVAC staffer, Micheal Ighodaro said the report challenges the “misinformation and complacency that assume the world can achieve HIV sustainability, biomedical HIV prevention progress and global health security without key populations’ leadership and insight.”

AVAC’s Cindra Feuer offered context on impending reductions in global spending on the HIV response, occurring not because resources are limited but because of waning interest. Inform your advocacy with AVAC and GBGMC’s 2023 Global HIV Prevention Roadmap for Key Populations.  

AVAC’s Kenyon Farrow presented on why researchers, implementers and community advocates can and should all play a role in shaping the PrEP pipeline, and how innovation in the pipeline should be implemented.  

Why STIs Matter

The preconference, Mobilize for Action on Sexually Transmitted Infections addressed the urgent need to confront the global spike in STI rates, particularly syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis. Epidemiological data shows alarming growth in STI rates, and speakers discussed the morbidity and mortality that they’re causing, and an underfunded infrastructure for researching new diagnostics, antibiotics, vaccines and other treatments.  

Perhaps no more sobering of a statement was made than by Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of NIAID, when discussing the number of global deaths from something as treatable as syphilis. “I think some of the more staggering statistics here, in addition to the sheer number of new infections, is the fact that we had in 2022 over 200,000 syphilis-associated deaths, which to me is practically medieval.”  

In addition to research for new treatments and increases in STI program funding, Alison Footman, AVAC’s senior program manager of STIs said it’s equally important to strengthen the capacity and role of community advocates in fighting STIs. 

“AVAC partners with many organizations across East and Southern Africa who are raising the profile of STI advocacy. From their guidance, we know there’s a need for community advisory boards [to be] involved in STI research. It can and will improve essential research.” 

Alison Footman, AVAC

A rigorous debate explored the question of implementing DoxyPEP, given there’s no efficacy data for cisgender women in light of fears of creating drug resistant strains of STIs from wider use of doxycycline. Strong arguments were made on both sides, but this controversy is one of the reasons AVAC recently published an Advocate’s Guide to Doxycycline to Prevent STIs. 

Cure and the Next Berlin Patient

With researchers announcing what appears to be the seventh person potentially cured of HIV following a stem cell transplant, a preconference on cure research, Towards a Truly Global HIV Cure, captured a feeling of momentum driving cure research today. Donors discussed new investments in African-based infrastructure and initiatives. Scientists explained where cure research is headed in both adult and pediatric populations. But none of these topics were more important than comments from a South African participant in the FRESH cohort trial that includes an analytic treatment interruption, one of the first in Africa, emphasizing that a strong commitment to communication was the foundation to building the trust necessary for these trials. ”Sharing strategies for communication and advocacy across the field of HIV cure research will be essential for it to advance.” 

PrEP Choice

With interim results of the PURPOSE 1 HIV prevention study of injectable lenacapavir (LEN) for PrEP among cisgender women and adolescent girls recently announced, the expanding landscape of PrEP options was the focus of Welcome to the Era of PrEP Choice. Organized by the Gates Foundation, Unitaid, USAID, and the World Health Organization, the message from this session echoed throughout the various presentations: Everyone has a role to play in expanding access to real choices for all who need and want them. Putting in place the right programs, policies and investment to deliver choices at scale and bend the curve of the epidemic utterly depends on a commitment to integrated, equitable, people-centered, and community-led approaches. See the latest quarterly update from The Coalition to Accelerate Access to Long-Acting PrEP, AVAC’s recent webinar on monitoring for PrEP choice to improve and simplify data, and the new Lens on LEN, an advocates guide explain the findings from Purpose 1 and next steps for advocacy.

Stay tuned for more highlights from AIDS 2024 and visit our curated conference webpage for new resources and ways to navigate #AIDS2024 including our roadmap.

Avac Event

PrEP Justice: Updates on the US v. Gilead case and the fight for equitable PrEP access


In a major twist that could potentially result in as much as $1B for equitable PrEP access in the US, the government has just made the decision to appeal last year’s jury verdict in the US v. Gilead case. Following pressure from PrEP4All and HIV/AIDS advocates, the US government originally brought the case in 2019, alleging that Gilead had infringed on PrEP patents held by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and owed royalties to the government. While a jury verdict in May of last year went against the government, the judge in the case overturned a key part of that verdict just this March, setting the stage for a government appeal.

The stakes for communities in need of PrEP access could not be higher. Gilead’s patent infringement and price gouging have sabotaged equitable PrEP access in America. Royalties paid to the government could and should form the basis for a National PrEP Program that would help erase those disparities. Join The Choice Agenda and PrEP4All to discuss the origin of US v. Gilead, the reasons for the government appeal, and what the case means for PrEP users in the United States.

Moderator:

  • Michael Chancley, PrEP4All

Speakers:

  • Chris Morten, Columbia Law School
  • Jeremiah Johnson, PrEP4All

Recording / Slides / Resources

Avac Event

Where’s the Equity? Including People with Disabilities in HIV Prevention Programming and Research

As a movement motivated by health and human rights, the HIV field has collectively been tuning in more than ever to the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion when it comes to HIV prevention programming and research. That said, there seems to be less awareness and effort around the inclusion of people with disabilities in our programs and protocols. Recognizing that “people with disabilities” is an immense group of very diverse people, this webinar helped explore the who, what, where and how involved in acknowledging the importance of including people with disabilities, with concrete ideas for where, how, and with whom we can improve our efforts.

Speakers:

  • Dr. Hannah Kuper, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
  • Tafadzwa Maseva, Zimbabwe Network for Disability
  • Brian Minalga, Office of HIV/AIDS Network Coordination (HANC)
  • Sarah Mwikali, Gifted Community Centre

Moderators:

  • JD Davids, Strategies for High Impact / Long COVID Justice
  • Patriciah Jeckonia, LVCT Health

Recording / Slides / Resources

Upcoming Webinars and a Roundup of New Resources

Last week’s interim result of the PURPOSE 1 HIV prevention study of injectable lenacapavir is captivating headlines. Check out AVAC’s statement here and one from the PURPOSE 1 Global Community Accountability Board and the African Women’s Prevention Community Accountability Board here. But there are LOTS of other things also happening in HIV prevention, and we’re delighted to share this roundup.

Upcoming Webinars

Responding to Project 2025’s Threats to Science, Rights and Resources

Project 2025 is part of an ongoing multi-pronged backlash to the sexual and reproductive health, gender and LGBTQ+ movements. Building on the experience of the HIV movement in fighting these same far-right forces, join this Choice Agenda webinar discussing potential responses through the lens of HIV affected communities and programs. Register here

You Get What You Measure: Why Monitoring for PrEP Choice Helps Tell Our Story

The data collected on a program determines its path and priorities. This Choice Agenda webinar will cover the current state of PrEP monitoring and evaluation, and efforts to improve and simplify data-gathering to better reflect how people use PrEP and to support choice amongst the growing array of PrEP methods. And the discussion will also focus on how data can be used to enhance the stories we tell about PrEP program implementation. Register here

Recordings and Resources

From The Lab To The Jab Webinar and Issue Briefs

Earlier this month, AVAC hosted a webinar highlighting our series of issue briefs, From The Lab To The Jab, covering research and development, mRNA technology, vaccine production, issues relevant to equitable global access to vaccines. The webinar featured panelists from the International Vaccine Institute, International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, and æqua, a think tank focused on equity and economic justice for health. Panelists discussed international initiatives for vaccine development, the current state of vaccine research and access, and how they can be improved. Read more

The GPP Body of Evidence: GPP Monitoring and Evaluation Frameworks, REAL and REAL2

GPP is an essential part of clinical trials research, and an ethical imperative to creating equitable and effective clinical trials. GPP is created by and for communities, so it looks different and takes multiple forms in different cultural contexts. This kind of responsiveness is inherent to GPP, but it also makes it difficult to measure and evaluate. In this webinar, participants will learn from the Realist Review of Community Engagement and the REAL2 review of participatory research. Each examined frameworks for evaluating community engagement efforts. We’ll also learn about the Global Health Network’s new course on evaluation, and other efforts in the field to evaluate the impact of GPP. View the recording

It’s Not Just about the Trial: GPP from discovery to delivery in TB research

GPP enhances every stage of the research lifecycle. In this webinar, our partners at TB Alliance, SMART4TB, and THINK shared experiences, lessons learned, and innovative approaches in integrating GPP at the organizational, network and situational level, from drug development through delivery. View the recording

Advocates’ Guide to Doxycycline to Prevent Bacterial STIs (DoxyPEP)

Doxycycline, an oral antibiotic, can be used as a post-exposure prophylaxis, commonly referred to as DoxyPEP, when used to prevent the acquisition of some bacterial STIs after sex. Doxycycline is inexpensive, easily tolerated, and widely available. However, questions remain regarding who will benefit most from DoxyPEP and how to implement this strategy broadly to ensure equitable access and minimize antimicrobial resistance. This guide seeks to explore and address these critical questions. Read the guide

Episode 3: The Promising Science

Our Mitchell Warren speaks to ViiV’s Kimberly Smith in this episode of the Foreign Policy podcast series ‘can we end epidemics?’ about the future of HIV science and the challenges we need to overcome on our journey to finding a cure. Listen

We hope these conversations and resources are helpful in your advocacy. Stay tuned for our upcoming advocates’ primer on lenacapavir and our roadmap to the AIDS 2024 conference in Munich.

Avac Event

AIDS 2024: New Ways for the Next Wave: Innovative R&D for the future of women’s prevention

This session will be 9:30AM to 11:00AM Munich time.

Women need a range of HIV prevention options to meet different needs, preferences and life circumstances. Currently available pills, rings and injectables are necessary but insufficient. How might we accelerate the delivery of methods we have while developing additional ones – including systemic and non-systemic methods, short-acting and on-demand products, to complement longer-acting ones? Product developers and advocates are collaborating on new approaches to expedite R&D of additional HIV prevention options. Notably, MATRIX is taking a unique approach, endorsed by the CASPR network of advocates, that aims to improve the odds of success of new products – through development, delivery and use.

This session will focus on new efforts to identify and develop promising options, strategically engage all stakeholders, decolonize R&D and involve potential users in all their diversities throughout the process.

Speakers:

  • Jeanne Marrazzo, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
  • Sharon Hillier, University of Pittsburgh / Magee-Womens Research Institute
  • Thesla Palanee-Phillips, Wits RHI

Followed by a moderated panel with:

  • Chimwemwe Chamdimba, African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) initiative- AUDA/NEPAD
  • Kelly Chibale, Holistic Drug Discovery and Development Centre -H3D, University of Cape Town
  • Nyaradzo Mgodi, University of Zimbabwe- Harare Health Research Centre
  • Jerop Ruth Limo, Ambassador for Youth and Adolescents Reproductive Health Program (AYARHEP)

Moderators:

  • Navita Jain, AVAC
  • Kenneth Ngure, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

Session Chairs:

  • Sharon Hillier, University of Pittsburgh / Magee-Womens Research Institute
  • Imelda Mahaka, Pangaea Zimbabwe

This satellite session will be co-hosted by CASPR and MATRIX, with support from USAID and PEPFAR.

Avac Event

You Get What You Measure: Why Monitoring for PrEP Choice Helps Tell Our Story

The data we collect on a program determines its path and priorities. This webinar covered the current state of PrEP M&E and efforts to improve and simplify the data we collect, allowing our data to better reflect how people are using PrEP, support PrEP choice amongst the growing array of PrEP methods, and enhance the stories we can tell about PrEP program implementation.

Presenters:

  • Katharine Kripke, Avenir Health, MOSAIC
  • Jessica Williamson, Avenir Health, MOSAIC

Panelists:

  • Omolabake Ekundayo, Ministry of Health Nigeria
  • Dr. Herbert Kadama, Ministry of Health Uganda
  • Ramatsoai Soothoane, Jhpiego, MOSAIC Project Lesotho

Moderator:

  • Adaobi Olisa, FHI360, MOSAIC Project Nigeria

This webinar offered live French and Portuguese translation, courtesy of the South-to-South Learning Network in Africa.

Co-sponsors:

  • BioPIC
  • South-to-South Learning Network
  • The MOSAIC Project

Recording in English / French Audio Recording / Portuguese Audio Recording / Webinar Slides / Strengthening and Harmonising PrEP Indicators

Avac Event

Responding to Project 2025’s Threats to Science, Rights and Resources

Project 2025 is part of an ongoing multi-pronged backlash to the sexual and reproductive health, gender and LGBTQ+ movements. This has serious implications for both domestic and foreign policies and programs for our communities and beyond. Building on the experience of the HIV movement in fighting these same far-right forces, this webinar discussed potential responses through the lens of HIV affected communities and programs.

Speakers:

  • Sean Cahill, The Fenway Institute
  • Aleksei Lakhov, EuroNPUD
  • Will Ramirez, Southern AIDS Coalition
  • Beirne Roose-Snyder, Council for Global Equality
  • Olabukunola (Buky) Williams, AKINA MAMA WA AFRIKA

Moderators:

  • Anne-christine d’Adesky, Stop the Coup 2025
  • Allan Maleche, KELIN

Co-sponsors:

  • AVAC
  • European AIDS Treatment Group
  • EuroNPUD
  • The Fenway Institute
  • Funders Concerned About AIDS
  • GSSG Foundation
  • KELIN
  • Southern AIDS Coalition
  • Stop the Coup 2025

Recording / Slides / Resources / Chat

Pride and a Transnational Anti-LGBTQ+ Reaction

For five decades LGBTQ+ communities and their allies have come together in June to celebrate Pride, to demand recognition of our human rights, and to honor Queer lives. It was movement that ignited out of a climate of fear and ignorance, one that de-humanized trans people and same-gender loving people and made possible their continual persecution.   

As we mark the 54th anniversary of the New York City Stonewall Uprising of 1969, we celebrate the diversity and resilience of LGBTQ+ communities around the world and we must call out the transnational anti-LGBTQ+ reaction that is propelling gay-hate legislation, systemic violations of human rights, and violence against Queer people in countries across Africa, Asia and the US.  

Read on for details on an important advocacy movement against the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Uganda, a new podcast capturing the highlights and personal story of one advocate’s work, and the work of a cross-country collaboration strengthening advocacy for key populations.  

New Report

UNWANTED, OUTLAWED AND ILLEGAL: THE CRY OF LGBTIQ+ UGANDANS

It’s been one year since the Ugandan legislature passed one of the most draconian gay-hate laws in the world, the Anti Homosexuality ACT (AHA), which has since been approved by a Ugandan court ruling, now on appeal. The AHA intensifies the criminalization of LGBTQ+ people, including up to life imprisonment for consensual same-sex conduct, and even the death penalty in certain circumstances. A new report by the Strategic Response Team (SRT), UNWANTED, OUTLAWED AND ILLEGAL: THE CRY OF LGBTIQ+ UGANDANS, documents evictions, arrests, imprisonment, forced anal exams, and community violence against LGBTQ+ people since the passage of AHA. 

New Podcast

PxPulse: The Advocacy Chronicles

In a new edition of PxPulse: The Advocacy Chronicles, Allan Mwasa of SMUG International in Uganda discusses the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA), rising violence against LGBTQ+ communities in Uganda, how advocates are organizing, and what allies can do now. A donation to SMUG supports the work of the Strategic Response Team documenting civil rights violations and intensifying persecution of LGBTQI+ Ugandans. Click here to donate to SMUG. 

On the Radar

The Key Population Trans National Collaboration (KP-TNC)

And follow the work of the Key Population Trans National Collaboration (KP-TNC), a cross country collaboration strengthening advocacy for key populations. Working in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zanzibar, the KP-TNC strengthens relationships between KP-led organizations and development partners, regional organizations, the African Union, PEPFAR, The Global Fund and country governments, and develops strategies to advance advocacy for global health equity at large, and for HIV prevention and treatment among key populations. 

This moment requires global solidarity to push back against the lies, prejudice and discrimination that imperil LGBTQ+ people everywhere. Here’s to a powerful Pride! 

Announcing the Next Class of Advocacy Navigators

We are thrilled to announce AVAC’s 3rd class of Advocacy Navigators! This group of 12 emerging advocates from nine countries was selected from 100s of interested applicants. They will be paired with six mentors, seasoned advocates who are alumni of AVAC’s Advocacy Fellows program. These mentors provide support and guidance as the Navigators strengthen and expand their skills in HIV prevention advocacy. 

Meet the 2024 Advocacy Navigators

Elizabeth Zahabu, Tanzania; Gcebile Yvette Dlamini, Eswatini; Jessica Booysen, South Africa; Joseph Robert Linda, Uganda; Nawanyaga Gloria, Uganda; Rita Nyaguthii Gatonye, Kenya; Renny Mulala, Zambia; Madalitso Juwayeyi, Malawi; Rumbidzai Munhanzi, Zimbabwe; Takunda Clement Chanetsa, Zimbabwe; Nicole Ondisa Oduya, Kenya; Sharon Ramantele, Botswana.

Following the model of the AVAC Advocacy Fellows program, Navigators tackle curated coursework, focused networking, and personalized mentorship over six months.

Meet the 2024 Mentors

Anna Miti, Zimbabwe; Chilufya Hampongo, Zambia; Cleopatra Makura, Zimbabwe; Eric Mcheka, Malawi; Dr. Lilian Benjamin Mwakyosi, Tanzania; Simon K’Ondiek, Kenya.

And a big congratulations to the graduating cohort of Advocacy Navigators who recently completed the 2023 program. Nine Navigators implemented new advocacy projects in their communities on the rollout of CAB for PrEP and DVR, meaningful engagement of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in HIV prevention, changing the age of consent, and advocacy for accessible HIV prevention for people with disabilities, sex workers and other key populations.

About the Advocacy Navigators Program

Since 2009 with the establishment of the AVAC Advocacy Fellows program, AVAC has recognized the imperative to support HIV prevention advocates with the knowledge and skills they desire. The Fellows Network represents a global movement of seasoned veterans and passionate newcomers, who call out neglect, insist on equity, monitor commitments and identify solutions. Now the Advocacy Navigator program, which is part of the Coalition to Accelerate & Support Prevention Research (CASPR), is leveraging the strength of this extraordinary program and its alumni community to expand and strengthen the network and continue to support and engage advocates for the long-term. 

The Advocacy Navigator program combines training and mentorship to young and emerging advocates in the field of HIV prevention advocacy. The program mobilizes a cohort of ambitious individuals and provides them with resources to build their knowledge, skills and confidence to meaningfully advance HIV prevention advocacy in their communities and countries. The program includes online coursework, personalized mentorship, and opportunities to directly apply learning through a community advocacy project. The program begins with three months of coursework and project development, followed by three months when advocates implement their plans. 

Keep up to date with this year’s Navigators and stay tuned for updates on their upcoming advocacy projects!

Avac Event

The GPP Body of Evidence: GPP Monitoring and Evaluation Frameworks, REAL and REAL2

GPP is an essential part of clinical trials research, and an ethical imperative to creating equitable and effective clinical trials. GPP is created by and for communities, so it necessarily looks different and takes multiple forms in different cultural contexts. This kind of responsiveness is inherent to GPP, but it also makes it difficult to measure and evaluate.

In this webinar, we learned from the Realist Review of Community Engagement and the REAL2 review of participatory research that both examined frameworks for evaluating community engagement efforts, as well as the Global Health Network’s new course on evaluation, and other evaluation efforts in the field of GPP.

Moderator:

  • Jessica Salzwedel, AVAC

Panelists:

  • Alun Davies, The Global Health Network
  • Sassy Molyneux, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust
  • Dr. Robin Vincent, Oxford University

Recording / Alun Davies Slides / Sassy Molyneux Slides / Dr. Robin Vincent Slides