This dynamic, workshop-style showcase was the first of a series that featured multimedia presentations that took participants through key PrEP resources including: A toolkit to ensure programs related to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and HIV prevention are well designed to reach and support adolescent girls and young women. Comprehensive databases for tracking PrEP uptake, Implementation research and other critical data by product, country, and population.
Small groups had opportunities to take deep dives into each of the above resources, and explore how they might use these in their work. Additionally, participants provided input on what resources are still needed, collaborate on how to improve and disseminate what exists, and support the development of evidence and networks to advance HIV prevention.
Today, on Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), as communities across the globe memorialize trans and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people targeted by violence and state-sanctioned bigotry, AVAC honors the trans community—those lost and those among us. We are committed, now more than ever, to fight these ongoing injustices and support TGNC advocates to lead on issues facing their communities.
Riding the momentum of the release of the No Data No More Manifesto and the Trans-Inclusivity Scorecard, AVAC is relaunching TG ROAR, a program from our larger PxROAR initiative, dedicated to supporting TGNC HIV advocates in Eastern and Southern Africa. The new eight-member cohort will campaign for trans-centered, HIV research and service delivery while addressing the social, political and economic barriers that all too often stand in the way.
Crimes against TGNC are on the rise as are rates of HIV incidence in trans populations. TGNC face unique barriers to testing, adherence to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and maintaining viral suppression. Without meaningful trans inclusion in advocacy efforts there will be no epidemic control.
Learn more about AVAC’s new cohort of TG ROAR advocates here:
We continue to fight for transgender rights and invest in TGNC leadership to create a more equitable and just future for all.
Let’s Talk About HIV Cure Research: An introduction to the science under investigation
Dr. Marina Caskey of Rockefeller University and members of the REACH Community Advisory Board hosted a webinar on November 15 to review the current state of HIV cure research. This webinar explored what makes curing HIV so challenging, the strategies being pursued, and what is happening in locally in NYC!
HPTN 096: Building Equity Through Advocacy – An Integrated, Status-Neutral Approach for Ending the Epidemic Among Black Gay Men in the South
November 15, 10:00 to 11:30 AM ET
The Choice Agenda and partners hosted a fascinating discussion about a novel, much-needed HIV prevention research study – HPTN 096 on November 15. Currently in the field, the study addresses social, structural, institutional, and behavioral barriers to HIV prevention and care. Visit the study website here.
Speakers (list in formation):
Prof. LaRon E. Nelson. Yale School of Nursing; HPTN 096 Protocol Co-Chair Christopher Hucks-Ortiz, HPTN Black Caucus Chair Dr. Cedric Pulliam, HPTN 096 Community Strategy Group Abraham Johnson, HPTN 096 Research Advisor
Moderators: Riko Boone, Treatment Action Group John Meade, AVAC
Co-sponsored by PrEP in Black America and Federal AIDS Policy Partnership Research Working Group
Announcing the Good Participatory Practice Body of Evidence
We are thrilled to announce the Good Participatory Practice (GPP) Body of Evidence, a new online clearinghouse of case studies and analyses demonstrating the power of GPP, along with tools, templates and trainings for GPP implementation. The resources we’ve gathered for this much-needed “one-stop GPP shop” can be used to show the impact of GPP to date, how it can be measured going forward, and its practical application in real-time.
The Good Participatory Practice Guidelines have been shaping and improving HIV prevention research since 2007. They provide a global reference guide for ethical and effective stakeholder engagement, helping ensure the priorities of trial participants and their communities are centered in clinical trials and broader research agendas.
But GPP implementation is far from easy. Because GPP looks different in every context and outcomes can be difficult to quantify, engagement work is often seen as secondary to clinical processes, and therefore undervalued and under-resourced. The GPP Body of Evidence demonstrates the contribution of GPP to the research enterprise, and the professionalization of GPP implementation.
Rest assured that this is not a one-off effort! Stay tuned for a webinar series in 2024 with key partners including WHO and Wellcome Trust that will highlight critical issues in stakeholder engagement in research, linking to corresponding resources from the Body of Evidence. And we’ll be keeping the Body of Evidence up to date – so please reach out if you have resources to add.
It’s time for GPP to become an international standard for clinical research. Making that case and making it happen, using the GPP Body of Evidence, has never been easier.
Avac Event
African Civil Society Mobilization for PEPFAR Reauthorization
Tuesday, November 28 at 7:00 AM ET
Moderator: Richard Muko,Regional Implementation Advocacy Manager, AVAC
Panelists: Joan Chamungu, Tanzanian Network of Women Living with HIV, Lawrence Khonyongwa, Malawi Network of People of Living with HIV, TBC, African Network of Youth Living with HIV, Annette Gaudino, Advocacy Coalition Manager, GAPP
Hosted by African Network of Youth Living with HIV (AY+), East African Network of AIDS Serving Organizations (EANNASO), Key Populations Trans-National Collaboration (KPTNC) and Coalition to build Momentum, Power, Activism, Strategy & Solidarity (COMPASS)
Join civil society organizations in PEPFAR recipient countries to discuss the status and political context of the current reauthorization and mobilize to call on the US Congress to recommit this life sustaining program. Bring your questions and please share this invitation widely in your relevant networks.
Results from STI Landscaping Analyses in East and Southern Africa—Parts 1 and 2
Hear results from STI landscaping projects conducted in seven different countries from East and Southern Africa that explored needs for STI vaccines and diagnostics.
This webinar reviewed core concepts discussed in the previous webinar, Let’s Talk About HIV Cure Research: An Introduction to the science under investigation and introduce how hormones may impact cure strategies.
This webinar featured Dr. Jessica Prodger of Western University.
Objectives:
Review key concepts and terminology of HIV cure
Known sex differences of HIV progression
Potential impact of hormones on HIV cure strategies
Let’s Talk About HIV Cure Research: An Introduction to the science under investigation
Wednesday, November 15, 11:00 to 12:30 PM ET
Dr. Marina Caskey of Rockefeller University and members of the REACH Community Advisory Board hosted a webinar on November 15 to review the current state of HIV cure research. This webinar explored what makes curing HIV so challenging, the strategies being pursued, and what is happening in locally in NYC!
People who are pregnant or lactating (PLP) have historically been excluded from research because of concerns for the developing fetus. But this has led to a dearth of data on new interventions against health threats for this population. In the case of HIV, pregnancy raises the risk of acquiring HIV by up to three times, but providers often do not have the data to know whether a new intervention is safe or how it will work for pregnant patients. As a result, PLP and their physicians are left to make difficult decisions around the use of proven HIV prevention products as they await more data specific to pregnancy and lactation.
But change is in the air. Champions for the inclusion of PLP in research are paving the way for a paradigm shift— one that will redefine this population from needing protection from research to being better protected through research. In this episode of Px Pulse, AVAC’s Manju Chatani-Gada takes us through conversations with a trial participant who became pregnant, researchers, policy-makers and donors to understand why this population gets excluded, the impact it has, and what to do about it.
Tune in to hear
Dr. Anne Drapkin Lyerly, Principal Investigator of the PHASES Project to advance equitable inclusion of pregnant women in HIV research and its follow-on project, PREPARE, focused on ethical HIV research in adolescents who are pregnant.
Elisia Madende, Trial participant in the HPTN 084 trial in Zimbabwe
Dr. Ashley Lima, Health Science Specialist and Lead Technical Advisor for Socio-behavioral Research – USAID Office of HIV/AIDS Research Division
Dr. Takunda Sola, HIV Prevention and Key Populations Medical Officer- Zimbabwe MoH AIDS/TB Unit
