Avac Event

South African AIDS Conference (SAAIDS)

The 12th SAAIDS Conference 2025, under the theme: Unite for Change – Empower Communities and Redefine Priorities for HIV/AIDS will be held in Johannesburg 8-11 September.

Resources

If you’re attending, don’t miss a keynote plenary where AVAC’s Mitchell Warren will share perspectives on the future of HIV prevention, and an important satellite on Wednesday, Bridging the Gap and Identifying Opportunities: Innovative Strategies to Accelerate HIV Prevention, Treatment, and Care for Key and Vulnerable Populations in South Africa.  

Press Release

AVAC Condemns US Administration’s ‘Pocket Rescission’ Request to Withhold Billions in Foreign Aid 

AVAC calls on Congress to reassert its constitutional power

Contact: [email protected]

New York, NY, September 2, 2025 – AVAC condemns the US Administration’s intent to withhold billions of dollars in federal foreign assistance through the proposed ‘pocket rescission’ request sent to Congress last Friday. AVAC calls on Congress to reassert its constitutional power in appropriating federal spending and counteracting this executive overreach by the Administration. The Administration is seeking to cancel any Congressionally-appropriated funding at its discretion, with zero oversight or accountability from a co-equal branch of government. 

“This is a true constitutional crisis, advancing the Administration’s assault on Congress’ ‘power of the purse’ and putting millions of lives at risk,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC, lead plaintiff in AVAC v. State Department. “We have already seen the devastating consequences of the foreign aid freeze: interrupted treatment, shuttered clinics, prevention efforts stalled, and lives lost. Now, by attempting to usurp Congress of its constitutional role and granting the President unilateral authority to decide which appropriations to honor and which to ignore, the Administration is setting a dangerous precedent—one that, if unless prevented, will reverberate globally, jeopardize lives, and undermine the very foundations of US governance.” 

The Administration continues to attempt to use questionable budgetary maneuvers to “run out the clock” on the fiscal year and avoid disbursing nearly $4.2 billion of Congressionally-appropriated foreign assistance. These maneuvers are illegal, and represent another step in the Administration’s reckless efforts to pull back billions in unspent foreign assistance funds which were already approved by Congress.   

“This crisis has been building since January 20, when the Administration froze foreign assistance funding and forced AVAC and partners to turn to the courts,” said Warren. This past week marked one of the worst yet. On August 28, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied AVAC’s petition to rehear its case en banc and vacated the District Court’s preliminary injunction that had required the Administration to release billions in Congressionally-appropriated foreign assistance funds. That decision came only two days after the Administration filed an emergency petition to the Supreme Court of the United States seeking permission to continue withholding the funds. While last week’s ruling was a setback, the Court did significantly modify a prior opinion from August 13, paving the way for AVAC, the Global Health Council (GHC), and co-plaintiffs to return to the District Court to pursue relief. Lawyers representing AVAC and GHC have already filed motions for a renewed preliminary injunction. 

“AVAC and GHC have gone back to the District Court to seek a new injunction. And our fight doesn’t stop there,” Warren said. “We will continue to press our case in courtrooms, in Congress, and alongside communities to defend global health and the rule of law. The courts must act swiftly to send a strong message against this executive overreach, and Congress must defend democracy by reasserting its constitutional role as the arbiter of how funds are appropriated and spent.” 

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About AVAC: Founded in 1995, AVAC is an international non-profit organization that provides an independent voice and leverages global partnerships to accelerate ethical development and equitable delivery of effective HIV prevention options, as part of a comprehensive and integrated pathway to global health equity. Follow AVAC on Bluesky and Instagram. Find more at www.avac.org and www.prepwatch.org.

Lenacapavir Regulatory Approval

Regulatory approvals, pending decisions, and appeals as of August 2025, including US Food and Drug Administration approval. For product approvals, volumes, implementation, and price comparisons of long-acting PrEP, visit our dashboard on PrEPWatch.org.

Where We Are Now with LEN for PrEP

The chaos in foreign assistance programs (including discontinuation of major PrEP programs), cuts in staffing and new demands on donor commitments will make decisions on the procurement of LEN for PrEP more complex and uncertain.

In December 2024, the Global Fund and PEPFAR announced a plan to reach 2 million people with LEN for PrEP over three years. Exactly how funding to support this unprecedented introduction program will move forward, in the absence of significant US investment, is far from certain. The other stakeholders, including Global Fund, Gilead, CIFF and the Gates Foundation expressed commitments to the deal, but major questions remain.

Press Release

AVAC Responds to Government’s Emergency Appeal to SCOTUS

In response to the US government’s August 26 emergency application to the US Supreme Court seeking to stay the preliminary injunction in the AVAC v Department of State legal case against the foreign aid freeze, AVAC’s Executive Director, Mitchell Warren wrote:

“It is no surprise that the administration has taken our case directly to the Supreme Court, especially after the District Court’s very clear and firm denial of their request yesterday to suspend the requirement to obligate Congressionally appropriated funding for foreign assistance. Time and again, this administration has shown their disdain for foreign assistance and a disregard for people’s lives in the United States and around the world. But even more broadly and dangerously, this administration’s actions further erode Congress’s role and responsibility as an equal branch of government. The question being put to SCOTUS is whether they will be complicit in further eroding the constitutional commitment to checks and balance.”

HIV Prevention Product Overview

The graphic provides an overview of PrEP products currently available and in late-stage clinical trials. 

This file is also available to download as a PowerPoint file.

EXPrESSIVE Phase 3 Trials

Seventeen countries are hosting sites for Merck’s trials of a monthly pill for PrEP. Launch is expected in Q3 2025. This graphic shows where these trials are taking place.

This file is also available to download as a PowerPoint file.

Moving a Product to the Real World

The rollout of oral PrEP demonstrates that people don’t take PrEP simply because it’s available—there needs to be a demand for it, and it needs to be accessible, acceptable and used effectively by those who need and want it. These are the lessons the field is applying to the rollout of the dapivirine vaginal ring (DVR), and injectable cabotegravir (CAB) and lenacapavir (LEN) for PrEP. To reach the UNAIDS target of 10 million PrEP users by 2025, initiations of oral PrEP alone will not be enough—and this graphic shows that the field is beginning to apply past lessons to accelerate introduction of injectable PrEP options.

Download this as a PowerPoint file. And for the latest on lenacapavir, visit here.

HIV Research on Pause

Impacts of US government cuts on HIV R&D

This presentation, delivered by AVAC’s Executive Director, Mitchell Warren at IAS 2025, shares a sobering picture of the sweeping changes to science, global health and particularly, HIV R&D since January 20, 2025. It outlines the impact of foreign aid cuts, NIH grant terminations, and policy shifts and shares a vision for the future.

Years Ahead in HIV Prevention Research: Time to Market

This timeline shows the potential time points when the next-generation of HIV prevention options might find their way into new programs.

This file is also available to download as a PowerPoint file.