IAS Science 2023 Conference: What you need to know

The 12th annual conference of the International AIDS Society (IAS) on HIV science takes place July 23–26 in Brisbane, Australia, and virtually. This year’s conference will offer the latest on vaccine and cure science, research updates on broadly neutralizing antibodies, important discussions on trial design in the era of PrEP, the potential of community-led models of care and the importance of integrating services for HIV and sexual and reproductive health (SRH). AVAC and partners will be there! Read on for an overview.

Just ahead of the conference, UNAIDS released their annual state of the epidemic report, The Path that Ends AIDS. The report charts a path that can end AIDS, and documents important progress, but challenges remain. Among them, global resources for HIV are marking another year of decline. With anti-LGTBQIA+ legal actions increasing in the US and in several African countries and reduced resources, efforts to end the epidemic will fail. See AVAC’s new graphic on the issue.

title card with presentation info

IAS Resources

  • Use AVAC’s Roadmap to find sessions where prevention, pandemic preparedness and the larger issues of global health equity are in the spotlight. You can download it as a sortable spreadsheet or PDF.
  • Follow events in real time, AVAC will offer comments and updates on Twitter, and our friends at NAM/AIDSMAP will be reporting throughout the conference. Join the conversation using the conference hashtag #IAS2023.

Satellites, Sessions and Panels Featuring AVAC and Partners

All times listed are local in Brisbane, Australia. Click for a time zone converter.

Sunday, July 23

Tuesday, July 25

Wednesday, July 26

Poster Presentations

  • No Data No More: A tool to end the exclusion of trans and gender-diverse people in HIV research
  • Raising New Voices in HIV Cure Research: A review of an advocacy-for-cure academy and grant program
  • The Value of Measuring Outcomes of HIV Advocacy: Utilising a novel and participatory approach for advocacy evaluation
  • HIV Prevention Research & Development Investments 2001-2021: Shifting investment priorities fund innovation in a challenging global health landscape
  • Revolution of Transgender Health Programming: The role of transgender activists in Health programming for Malawi

While many will be gathering in Australia for the IAS conference, the 27th International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research (ISSTDR) is happening in Chicago at the same time – and AVAC will be there, too. Stay tuned for an update later this week for AVAC’s STI Roadmap and dedicated STI conference page. Advocates, implementers and researchers in both fields have much work to do together.

STI & HIV World Congress Kicks Off July 24

Follow The Conversation!

Next week, the STI & HIV World Congress (also known as ISSTDR) kicks off in Chicago, Illinois, USA and AVAC will be there. This is the first major face-to-face meeting of STI & HIV professionals since 2019 and one of the only spaces the global STI community comes together to promote ongoing STI research efforts and exchange information on current investigations. This is also the first time AVAC is attending ISSTDR in hopes of expanding STI advocacy and community engagement.

STI & HIV World Congress Resources

Use AVAC’s Roadmap to find sessions where prevention, pandemic preparedness and the larger issues of global health equity are in the spotlight. You can download it as a sortable spreadsheet or PDF. The full conference program is also available.

Follow events in real time with the official hashtag, #ISSTDR2023, AVAC will offer comments and updates on Twitter.

Visit STIWatch.org, our updated and expanded online resource for the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) community to better understand and advocate for STI vaccine and diagnostics research, development and rollout.

palm card advertising STI Watch

STI & HIV World Congress 2023 Highlights

Check out some AVAC-featured sessions below.

The STI Prevention Pipeline: Where Are We, and What Will It Take to Move Forward Faster?
Monday, July 24 11am–2pm in the Mayfair Room
Join us to explore the current development and implementation stages of STI vaccines and diagnostics and identify ways to accelerate research through advocacy.

Symposium: New Vaccine Approaches to STI Prevention STI Vaccine Acceptance and Equity
Tuesday, July 25 2:30pm-4:00pm at Chicago 6
Join AVAC’s Alison Footman to dive into the topic of STI vaccines and equity as new interventions come into reach.

Setting Up a Remote/Home Testing STI Programme: A Practical Toolkit
Tuesday, July 25 2:30pm-4:00pm in Sheraton IV/V
Join us to explore the power of remote testing to affordably curb STI acquisitions.

Community Happy Hour
Monday, July 24, 6:00pm-8:00pm at Lizzie McNeill’s
Join AVAC and partners for a no frills happy hour for the STI community. All are welcome!

ISSTDR Advocacy Zone
Tuesday, July 25 to Thursday, July 27 in the Exhibit Hall
Visit the Advocacy Zone, a space to ask important questions, connect with fellow STI advocates, and begin to chart next steps in advancing STI R&D.

Global Investment in HIV Cure Research & Development in 2021

A decade of progress

Language for HIV Cure

This document shares up-to-date, community-preferred terminology within cure research.

Avac Event

ICASA 2023

Join AVAC and partners for the biennial International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (ICASA), in Harare, Zimbabwe December 4-9. More than 30 of our partners will convene at the meeting to champion community leadership and amplify their role in shaping local, national and global responses and delivering impactful advocacy. Community leadership on a range of issues are instrumental to: 

  • Accelerate and expand access to proven prevention options that people want and need. 
  • Dismantle the structural barriers to health faced by key populations. 
  • Intensify demands for robust domestic and global funding for health. 
  • Integrate HIV services with sexual and reproductive health. 
  • And much more. 

Scroll down for a roadmap to ICASA’s prevention program, and details on sessions and events that you won’t want to miss. 

Sessions of Interest

Sunday, December 3

  • Biomedical Prevention Forum 
    9:00-15:00 GMT 
    The Biomedical Prevention Forum will be held as a hybrid event bringing together advocates, civil society representatives, researchers, government officials and front-line providers to explore and discuss the latest advancements, challenges, and opportunities in biomedical HIV prevention, while emphasizing the importance of choice and its transformative impact on HIV prevention efforts. This is an open event. Register here. 
  • Key Populations Preconference 
    9:00-15:00 GMT 
    The Africa Key Populations Experts Group (AKPEG), African Sex Workers Alliance (ASWA), the African Network of People Using Drugs (AfricanPUD) and African Queer Youth Initiative (AQYI) Advocates for Prevention of HIV and AIDS in Africa (APHA), Global Black Gay Men Connect (GBGMC) and partners will host a safe platform to deliberate on the state of the HIV epidemic among Key Populations and to determine the stumbling blocks for progress on the path that ends AIDS for Key Populations.

Monday, December 4

Tuesday, December 5

  • Advancing Integrated Biomedical Prevention: Best Practices from Zimbabwe (Session 2) 
    8:45-09:30 GMT
    This satellite session will discuss best practices and lessons learned from the delivery of biomedical HIV prevention and Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision services as we work to further universal health coverage and robust health systems. Partners will launch a global call to action to unite, mobilize, and advocate for continued prioritized funding, sustained commitment, and strategic integration of VMMC into national and global prevention strategies.
  • Catalyzing a sustainable HIV prevention agenda: Approaches to expand local action on global commitments
    10:45-11:30 GMT
    Leveraging new strategic plans for HIV prevention, including the PEPFAR’s 5-year Strategy and UNAIDS’ Prevention Road Map, this satellite session will discuss combination prevention in the context of a sustainable HIV response and highlight a variety of approaches and models that leverage country and stakeholder-led innovations to meet the challenge.
  • Coordinating Implementation Science for CAB for PrEP: BioPIC’s Implementation Study Tracker 
    12:25-12:35 GMT
    In this oral abstract session, AVAC will present a new dashboard, which reflects all currently known activities relating to implementation research, modelling, clinical research, and landscaping for new late-stage biomedical HIV PrEP options, including cabotegravir for PrEP and the dapivirine vaginal ring.
  • Policy, Politics and HIV Management 
    13:05-13:50 GMT
    In this oral abstract session, Princess Mharire from Pangaea Zimbabwe AIDS Trust (PZAT) will present, Beyond Metrics: How the Simple Participatory Assessment of Real Change (SPARC) Tool Provides a Holistic Approach to Advocacy Measurement, and Joseph Njowa of PZAT will share the COMPASS MERL model in a presentation, Innovative tools for planning, monitoring, and evaluation of advocacy campaigns. 

Wednesday, December 7

Friday, December 8

  • Strengthen integration for better SRHR outcomes 
    10:45-11:30 GMT
    This concurrent session will feature Advocates for Prevention of HIV and AIDS in Africa’s (APHA) Yvette Raphael and will explore linkages between unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortion, and HIV.
  • HIV Prevention-Right Place, Right time 
    13:05-13:50 GMT
    This concurrent session will feature Maureen Luba of AVAC, Definate Nhamo of PZAT and Yvette Raphael of APHA. 

AVAC and Partner Poster Presentations

Tuesday, December 5 

  • Maximizing private pharmacies for PrEP delivery to increase uptake: Lessons learnt from the Community Retail Pharmacy Distribution Point, Ruth Akulu 

Wednesday, December 6 

  • Journalist Training: A Key Advocacy Strategy, Catherine Madebe
  • Perceptions on the new biomedical HIV prevention methods among adolescent girls and young women in tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe, Cleo Makura
  • Lessons from Crisis Response from TaNPUD in Enhancing Harm Reduction from 2015 to 2018, Marineus Mutongore
  • Implementing Community led Monitoring for improved quality of HIV services in Tanzania, Mathew Kawogo
  • Impact of social media exposure on HIV services uptake among Tanzanian Young people: Implications for enhancing the HIV response, Marineus Mutongore
  • Effective Strategies for Operating COWLHA support groups of Adolescents Living with HIV: Case of Mangochi and Chikwawa Districts of Malawi, Harry Madukani

Thursday, December 7 

  • Understanding Choice of HIV Prevention Options among Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) in Zambia, Natasha Mwila
  • Leveraging HIV to Build a Global Health Research and Development (R&D) Equity Advocacy Agenda, John Meade
  • Championing advocacy for domestic resource mobilization for health research and development in Africa, Ethel Makila

Friday, December 8 

  • Rural Youth: Underserved and Unsafe When Seeking Care, Liyema Somnono
  • Redefining Coalition Governance and Leadership in Support of Decolonizing Global Health: The Evolution of the COMPASS Coalition, Roberta Sutton
  • Collaborative Monitoring & Evaluation to Support Learning and Strengthen Advocacy Coalitions: The MERL Hub, Grace Tetteh
  • Realities faced by street children predisposing them to HIV and STIs in Dodoma and Dar es Salaam Cities in Tanzania, Simon Shilagwa 

A Comprehensive Approach for Progress

Ending the Epidemic

ClusterF*#k: Molecular HIV Surveillance, Criminalization, and The Real Risks to PLHIV

Tuesday, July 18 at 11:00 AM–12:30PM ET

Advocates Brian Minalga (Deputy Director of the Office of HIV/AIDS Network Coordination), Amir Sadeghi (Policy and Advocacy Manager at the The Center for HIV Law and Policy), and Andy Spieldenner (Executive Director of MPact Global Action) will explore the intersection of surveillance, bodily autonomy and criminalization.

This webinar is co-sponsored by The Center for HIV Law and Policy, MPact Global Action, and the Office of HIV/AIDS Network Coordination.

Recording / Slides / Resources

The Latest Resources From AVAC

AVAC has new resources and information covering mpox, UN negotiations on a declaration on pandemic preparedness, and highlights from the annual South African AIDS Conference (SAAIDS). In addition, be sure to scroll down for upcoming webinars on HIV and STI conferences and more!

Advocacy in Action: An update on the moving pieces of PPPR
Pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPPR) involves numerous initiatives to ensure the world is ready to respond to existing and future pandemics. UN members are in the midst of negotiating the language of a declaration on PPPR, which will commit heads of state and their governments to agreements on global coordination. And similar negotiations are underway on a global Pandemic Accord.

Check out, Our Take: Is the UN Declaration on PPPR and the Pandemic Accord going in the right direction? This blog by AVAC’s Sam Rick explores an analysis, conducted by AVAC and partners, of the current drafts of the Pandemic Accord and the UN Declaration on PPPR—and their implications for equity in global health. For background, see AVAC’s Advocates Guide for PPPR in 2023 and the recording from a recent webinar, The Road to and Beyond High-Level Meeting on UHC and PPR.

SA AIDS
The 11th annual South Africa AIDS Conference took place in June 20-23 in Durban, South Africa. AVAC and CASPR partners hosted a buzzing Research Literacy Networking Zone with a rich schedule of programs—see the full schedule here, and recordings here. We’re also super excited to report the launch of the Young Women’s HIV Prevention Council at SAAIDS—stay tuned for more about this dynamic group of women soon!

Updated PrEP Product Introduction Country Planning Matrix
Check out our updated Product Introduction Country Planning Matrix that tracks the regulatory status of cabotegravir for PrEP and the dapivirine vaginal ring, along with related implementation research, procurement plans, and oral PrEP provision.

ICYMI: Recordings of recent webinars

  • Mpox: Research, prevention and overcoming disparities—PrEP In Black America, PrEP4All, Treatment Action Group and AVAC co-hosted a webinar with an expert panel who explored the latest research, precautions individuals can take to protect themselves, effectiveness of vaccines, and the ongoing fight to address disparities in infection rates and uptake of vaccines, treatments and tests that impact Black communities. It is important for advocates to remain engaged, and for affected communities to be supported in completing their two-dose mpox vaccine regimens. Listen to the webinar and check out the resources.
  • PrEP That Booty: The latest on rectal microbicide research for the back door—The latest webinar from The Choice Agenda explored new research on rectal microbicides and advocacy for non-systemic options. Find slides and related resources here and watch for the recording coming soon.

Upcoming Webinars!
July 18: ClusterF*#k: Molecular HIV Surveillance, Criminalization, and The Real Risks to PLHIV
Register here
August 3: Tales from Two Cities: HIV and STI research highlights from IAS in Brisbane and ISSTDR in Chicago
Register here

Cumulative Number of PrEP Initiations for Q1 of 2023

PrEP That Booty: The latest on rectal microbicide research for the back door

Thursday, June 29 at 9:00 AM–10:30AM ET

Most of what we hear about regarding the HIV prevention pipeline is about long-acting, longer-acting, and even longer-acting products that deliver drug throughout the body and require a trained clinician to deliver. However, these attributes are not desirable to many folks, and communities want a range of choices. Researchers and advocates for years have been working on HIV prevention products specifically for the back door (rectum) to provide protection during anal intercourse. These products are user-controlled, non-systemic (the drug stays in the booty and only the booty), and are short-acting, so you don’t have to commit to having a prevention drug in your body for a year or longer. Join us for a dynamic discussion regarding the latest research on Booty PrEP – aka rectal microbicides – with our multi-talented panel.

Speakers include: Jonathan Baker, PA, Laser Surgery Care, Dr. Craig Hendrix, Johns Hopkins, Juan Michael Porter II, The Body, and Dr. Sharon Riddler, University of Pittsburgh

Recording / Slides / Resources