AVAC accelerates the development and delivery of STI prevention options by fostering collaborations with STI and HIV research advocates, developing new STI vaccines and diagnostics, and creating tools to monitor STI research and investment activities.
Advocacy to Accelerate Prevention R&D for Sexually Transmitted Infections
AVAC Case for Support
Allocation of Non-Commercial CAB for PrEP Supply in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, 2023-2025
HIV Vaccine and Antibody Efficacy Trials to Date
This infographic provides a comprehensive overview of HIV vaccine and antibody efficacy trials. Over 20 years and 12 trials, only two positive signals have been observed.
Avac Event
Just What is Discovery Medicine? And What Does it Mean for HIV Vaccine Research?
Participants joined to gain a broad understanding of Discovery Medicine including an overview of the current landscape for HIV vaccines. We also discussed what it means for HIV vaccine research and development moving forward, with a focus on community and advocacy priorities.
Speakers:
- Dr. Betty Mwesigwa, Makerere University Walter Reed Project
- Tian Johnson, BRILLIANT HIV Vaccine Discovery Consortium
- Dr. Cathy Slack, HIV AIDS Vaccines Ethics Group
- Dr. Sandhya Vasan, Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, US Military HIV Research Program
Moderators:
- Stacey Hannah, AVAC
- Louis Shackelford, HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) & COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN)
Recording / Full Slides / Resources
Avac Event
PrEP and the Role of HIV Self-Testing
HIV self-testing (HIVST) is a safe, accurate, and effective alternative to provider-administered testing that many users prefer for its convenience and confidentiality. At IAS 2023, WHO issued a new recommendation to offer HIVST for PrEP initiation and continuation as an innovative way to increase PrEP access and coverage and further simplify PrEP delivery. However, many implementers still have questions on how to effectively roll out and scale up this important self-care intervention.
On May 23, AVAC and WHO hosted a webinar to learn more about WHO guidance on use of HIVST and to hear directly from a panel of experts on their experiencing rolling out HIVST for PrEP, guidance on procurement and costing, and more.
Recording / Slides
For Us by Us: PrEP in Black America – A Master Plan for HIV Prevention in Black America
In the spirit of seeking change to ameliorate the devastating impact of HIV in Black communities through biomedical HIV prevention, Black leaders convened the “PrEP in Black America (PIBA) Summit” virtually and in person on September 13, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia. Attendees have included Black activists, researchers, scientists, providers, and policymakers from across the country representing more than 50 organizations. Following the event, PIBA generated a report summarizing the event and key recommendations entitled, “For Us by Us: PrEP in Black America – A Master Plan for HIV Prevention in Black America.”
Read the full report, “For Us by Us: PrEP in Black America – A Master Plan for HIV Prevention in Black America” here.
The More We Know
Evolving our understanding of PrEP for cisgender women
Science and real-world experience continue to demand a re-assessment of our collective understanding of the safety and effectiveness of PrEP options for women, including oral, vaginal ring, and injectable options. For instance, a new paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo (HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis with Emtricitabine and Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate Among Cisgender Women) challenges the notion, baked into policies, programs and “conventional wisdom”, that cisgender women need to be “super-adherers” to achieve protection utilizing oral PrEP. In this webinar, we discussed this important paper and more.
Speakers:
• Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• Joyce Ng’ang’a, WACI Health
Moderator:
Raniyah Copeland, Equity & Impact Solutions
Materials:
Recording / Ukrainian Audio / Slides / Resources / Audio Transcript (English/Ukrainian)
Avac Event
The Importance of HPV Vaccination Among People Living with HIV
HPV vaccination prevents 6 types of cancer and genital warts, including cervical cancer. Women living with HIV are up to six times more likely to develop invasive cervical cancer than their HIV-negative peers, but HPV immunization rates among this population remain low. During World Immunization Week, AVAC and TogetHER for Health co-hosted a discussion to learn more about the science behind and implementation challenges specific to expanding access to HPV vaccination for people living with HIV.
- Mandisa Dukashe, HIV Survivors and Partners Network
- Dr. Betty Njoroge, Kenya Medical Research Institute
- Dr. Christopher Morgan, Jhpiego
This webinar was co-hosted with TogetHER for Health
Recording / Mandisa Dukashe Slides / Dr. Betty Njoroge Slides / Dr. Christopher Morgan Slides
April Webinars!
This month we will host six webinars on a wide range of important issues, including choice in HIV prevention, PrEP in cisgender women, criminalization and HIV, syphilis in the US and DoxyPEP. Scroll down for what’s coming up later this week and later this month.
The More We Know: Evolving our understanding of PrEP for cisgender women
April 5, 9:00 – 10:30 am EST
Science and real-world experience continue to demand a re-assessment of our collective understanding of the safety and effectiveness of PrEP options for women, including oral, vaginal ring, and injectable options. Join us, Jeanne Marrazzo of NIAID, Joyce Ng’ang’a of WACI Health and Raniyah Copeland of Equity & Impact Solutions for a conversation with The Choice Agenda.
Watching the Watcher: Intersections of surveillance and criminalization in HIV and reproductive health care
April 9, 10:00 – 11:30 am EST
Positive Women’s Network-USA and The Choice Agenda invite you to join us for a webinar featuring leaders in digital technology, HIV advocacy, and abortion criminalization to examine the existential threat of our ongoing blurred boundaries between public health and policing.
STI Awareness Week is April 14 – 20!
Join us for two webinars focused on syphilis and DoxyPEP. These webinars are intended for health care providers, civil society organizations, public health officials, and others working in the STI/HIV fields.
Discussing Early Results from the SEARCH Dynamic Choice Study
April 23, 10:00 – 11:30 am EST
Join AVAC and Professor Moses Kamya of Makerere University to find out why the early results of the SEARCH Dynamic Choice study were some of the most exciting to come out of CROI in 2024.
Conducted in Kenya and Uganda, the study offered oral PrEP, PEP or injectable cabotegravir to both men and women, and an option to switch products.
We Can’t End HIV in the United States Without Equitable PrEP Access: strategies for success
April 26, 1:00 – 2:30 pm EST
Join HIVMA, PrEP4All and The Choice Agenda, as we assess some of the key challenges to delivering PrEP in the United States equitably, including cost, the complexities of our health care system, and other factors that inhibit uptake amongst the most vulnerable communities. Strategies to address these challenges will be offered, with lots of time for QA, discussion and much-needed debate. Please join us!
Avac Event
We Can’t End HIV in the United States Without Equitable PrEP Access: Strategies for success
A collaboration between HIVMA, PrEP4All and The Choice Agenda, this webinar assessed some of the key challenges to delivering PrEP in the United States equitably, including cost, the complexities of our health care system, and other factors that inhibit uptake amongst the most vulnerable communities. Strategies to address these challenges were offered included a Q&A, discussion and much-needed debate.
Speakers:
• Dr. Lorraine Dean, Johns Hopkins University, Department of Epidemiology
• Dr. Rupa Patel, Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Dr. Patrick Sullivan, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
Moderator:
Dr. Greg Millet, amfAR