The new director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo joined AVAC Executive Director in conversation.
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AVAC in Conversation with NIAID’s Jeanne Marrazzo
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Cervical Cancer Awareness Month Webinar Series (Jan 11 to Feb 1)
Webinar 1: Cervical Cancer: What, where, and prevention and treatment options
Thursday January 11, 8:00AM/4:00PM EAT
This webinar provided an overview of cervical cancer including what cervical cancer is, who is impacted, and prevention and treatment options.
Speakers included: Helen Kelly, Shona Dala, and Maribel Almonte Pacheco, WHO and Michelle Chevalier, US Department of State—Bureau of Global Health Security & Diplomacy/PEPFAR
Recording / Helen Kelly Slides
Webinar 2: Advocacy and Cervical Cancer: Voices that are creating change
Thursday January 18, 8:00AM/4:00PM EAT
During this webinar, we heard from advocates on how they have used their voice to bring more attention to cervical cancer and its impact on communities.
Speakers include: Tamika Felder, Cervivor and Karen Nakawala, Teal Sisters Foundation Zambia
Recording / Tamika Felder Slides / Karen Nakawala Slides
Webinar 3: Screening and Treating Cervical Cancer
Thursday January 25, 8:00AM/4:00PM EAT
During this webinar, speakers discussed options for screening and treating cervical cancer along with ongoing research.
Speakers include: Fred Wyand, American Sexual Health Association/National Cervical Cancer Coalition and Bothwell Guzha, University of Zimbabwe
Recording / Fred Wyand Slides / Bothwell Guzha Slides
Webinar 4: Cervical Cancer Among Key Populations
Thursday February 1, 8:00AM/4:00PM EAT
This webinar explored how cervical cancer impacts key populations and those vulnerable to HIV infections.
Speakers include: Samiya Mahmoud, Association for the Prevention of Septic Abortion, Bangladesh (BAPSA) and Shona Dalal, Helen Kelly, WHO
Remembering a Legacy and Celebrating AVAC Fellow Alumni
For over a decade, the AVAC Advocacy Fellows Program has played a role in shaping the landscape of HIV prevention by strengthening leadership skills and building a growing and evolving network of fierce and unstoppable advocates. Last year, AVAC released A Legacy of Impact: The power and reach of AVAC’s Advocacy Fellows to tell the story of the Fellows program and to share testimonies of impact from research to policy, and beyond.
Today, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day dedicated to the importance of advocacy to influence change, AVAC honors its nearly 100 Fellow alumni and applauds our most recent class which closed out their fellowship in December.
Read on for testimonies from the AVAC 2022/2023 Fellows and explore their work in their individual pages.
AVAC 2022/2023 Fellows in their words
Learn about Ruth’s work around the approval and rollout of the dual prevention pill (DPP) in Uganda here.
Learn about Onward’s work with engaging religious institutions on adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Zimbabwe here.
Learn about Prince’s work ensuring access to injectable CAB for PrEP for trans people in Malawi here.
Learn about Catherine’s work in the rollout and implementation of the dapivirine vaginal ring for adolescents and young women (AGYW) in Tanzania here.
Learn about Natasha’s advocacy for the approval of the dapivirine vaginal ring and injectable CAB for PrEP in Zambia here.
Learn about Peter’s work with differentiated service delivery of PrEP and expediting new PrEP tools in Lesotho here.
Learn about Elizabeth’s work advocating for sex workers and people who use drugs (PUD) here.
Learn about Liyema’s work on advocating and implementing the decriminalization of sex work in South Africa here.
Get to know the full AVAC Fellows community by exploring the full alumni database and stay tuned to meet the 2024/2025 class to be announced in April!
New Year, New PrEPWatch Resources
In 2024 we look forward to continuing to provide advocates with tools to support our collective work to ensure access to PrEP in all its forms to all who can benefit from it.
PrEPWatch.org has grown significantly in the past year, reaching a growing number of implementers, policy makers and advocates with continually updated tools and information that are instrumental to delivering the growing range of HIV prevention options. Throughout 2023, visitors from every country in the world have used PrEPWatch.org, a one-stop online clearinghouse of data, guidelines, tracking tools and other resources to help the global community speed the delivery of every proven method of PrEP to everyone who needs it. Check out what’s new and updated on PrEPWatch.org!
New on PrEPWatch
Modelling the Scale-Up of Injectable CAB for PrEP
Our Biomedical Prevention Implementation Collaborative (BioPIC) teamed up with the HIV Modelling Consortium to produce this analysis of the potential impact of scaling up injectable cabotegravir (CAB) for PrEP, What can modelling tell us about the scale-up of CAB for PrEP? The findings can help implementers and policymakers understand what to expect and guide early policy decisions to maximize the impact of CAB for PrEP on the HIV epidemic.
Country Pages
PrEPWatch has added 35 new country pages where you can find the status of drug registration for PrEP products, data on PrEP initiations by product, country-level PEPFAR targets, and links to key policy documents and guidelines.
The Integrated Study Dashboard
Produced under the BioPIC project, the Integrated Study Dashboard tracks all currently known activities relating to implementation research, modelling, clinical research, and landscaping for new biomedical HIV PrEP options, including CAB for PrEP and the dapivirine vaginal ring (DVR), and has been recently expanded to include links to study results and study websites. The dashboard is updated in real time, and links to results will be added as they become available.
More Essential Resources on PrEPWatch.org
Tracking Country Planning for Product Introduction
The Country Planning for Product Introduction Matrix tracks key indicators for the introduction of injectable CAB and the DVR by country, including regulatory status, late-stage clinical trials and implementation research, procurement plans, and recent oral PrEP provision.
Training PrEP Champions
Among the most popular resources on PrEPWatch, the HIV Prevention Ambassador Training Package and Toolkit prepares potential and current PrEP users to be leaders – and “Ambassadors” – in the rollout of PrEP for HIV prevention in their communities. Developed as part of the MOSAIC project, it includes a training manual and resources for Ambassadors to use in peer outreach and community education.
Trends in PrEP Initiations
The Global PrEP Tracker provides quarterly updates on global trends in PrEP initiation by geography, delivery models, and more. The Global PrEP Tracker has become an indispensable resource for following the state of the field in delivering PrEP.
We hope these tools, created through strong partnerships and joint effort, support your work to accelerate the delivery of HIV prevention options. We are always interested in collaboration to ensure needed resources are developed and up to date. If you have information to share or resource needs, please let us know by reaching out to [email protected] and [email protected].
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African Workshop on HIV & Women 2024
The inaugural edition of the African Workshop on HIV & Women will take place in hybrid format on 22 – 23 February 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The time zone that will be used for this meeting is East Africa Time (EAT). If you need to convert the times to your timezone, this website might be of interest to you: www.WorldTimeBuddy.com.
This exciting new initiative is a regional workshop paired to the annual “International Workshop on HIV & Women”. It is an outstanding opportunity for both local and international healthcare providers, researchers, government, industry, and community representatives to discuss and further increase their knowledge on the issues related to HIV and women living in Africa.
The primary purpose of this workshop is to support changes that will provide a better quality of life for women living with HIV and reduce HIV transmissions in the region.
The format of the workshop enables attendees to learn from renowned HIV experts, discuss challenges, gaps, and opportunities for further learning and research. The debates and roundtables are an especially important vehicle to discuss issues and challenge dogma.
The workshop also provides a forum for early-career investigators to present their research and to personally meet with experts they view as mentors and inspiration for their work.
The meeting organizers hope this workshop will catalyze forming a community, where attendees continue to participate yearly and form valuable relationships and partnerships that lead to collaborative projects and positive changes.
Regular fee deadline, February 8.
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PrEPVacc: An in-depth look at the trial, and what’s next
During this webinar, the PrEPVacc team and AVAC reviewed the status of the PrEPVacc trial. PrEPVacc, a 3-in-1 trial testing two different vaccine candidates (plus placebo arm) and two daily oral PrEP regimens, recently discontinued vaccinations in the trial due to an independent data review board’s conclusion that the vaccines were having no effect in preventing HIV infection. On this call, we will review key aspects of PrEPVacc, including its innovative study design, implementation, integrated social science, and data analysis plans. Speakers engaged in conversation about what we’ve learned from PrEPVacc, what we can still learn, and what this may mean for the HIV prevention field.
- PrEPVacc Trial Design: Sheena McCormack, PrEPVacc Project Lead, MRC Clinical Trials Unit, University College London, UK
- Trial Implementation and Baseline Data: Eugene Ruzagira, PrEPVacc Trial Director, MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit
- Integrated Social Science: Rachel Kawuma, PrEPVacc Social Scientist, MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit
- Analysis Plan: Sheila Kansiime, PrEPVacc Statistician, MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit
Recording / Sheena McCormack Slides / Eugene Ruzagira Slides / Rachel Kawuma Slides / Sheila Kansiime Slides
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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
Px Pulse: A season of listening
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.
PEPFAR at 20: Keeping the promise (23:16)
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.
LGBTQIA+ Advocacy in Uganda: Facing down fear and fighting for justice (24:19)
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.
The Shape of Pandemic Preparedness is Being Decided. Now is the Time for Collective Action (15:14)
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.
PPPR Advocacy 101: Find out what it means to you (19:05)
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.
Inclusion of Pregnant and Lactating People in HIV Research: What you need to know (34:28)
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? (21:23)
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!
A Call to Greater Action
Mobilizing People of Faith to Build Networks to Protect Human Rights and Overcome Homophobia
A call to action for faith leaders from across the region to join in solidarity in defense of human rights and evidence-based HIV prevention, including for vulnerable populations.
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:
- Global initiations of oral PrEP surpassed 5 million in 2023.
- Studies to implement the monthly dapvirine vaginal ring and the two-month injectable cabotegravirfor PrEP are ongoing in 22 countries, and we’ll see a 40% increase in doses of CAB available for these studies through 2025.
- The HIV prevention pipeline continues to evolve with new trials and an agenda for the research enterprise that leverages insights from recent trials.
- 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 global health stakeholders coordinate and commit to a new paradigm in delivering HIV prevention, one that will support the rollout of any option for HIV prevention and beyond?
- 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?
- Will champions for democracy, civil rights and evidence-based unite against a tide of increasing criminalization and persecution of the LGBTQ+ population?
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.
Call to Action for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision
A report on next steps to advance the role of VMMC in ending the epidemic.
Good Participatory Practice: Body of Evidence
An online package of resources to support advocacy for GPP as an international standard for clinical trials.
The HIV Prevention Choice Manifesto
A historic milestone in the power of community-led leadership and prioritization of choice in HIV prevention.
Progress Against HIV and AIDS is Fragile
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.
The Anti-HIV Jab is Coming to South Africa
Bhekisisa’s Mia Malan and AVAC’s Mitchell Warren breakdown what it will take to get injectable CAB for PrEP to everyone who needs it.
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.