May 19, 2026
AVAC Impact Reports highlight the power of advocacy, research translation, and partnership to advance HIV prevention and global health equity. Read also about how African leadership drives HIV prevention access.
By Grace Tetteh
AVAC’s PrEPWatch is the trusted global repository for comprehensive, user-friendly and up-to-the-minute information about HIV prevention methods. The platform provides data, analysis, tools, and comprehensive resources that are widely used by governments, donors, and partners to inform HIV prevention policy, financing, and programmatic decisions. AVAC ensures that data are available, accessible, and now in partnership with its sister organization, Access Bridge, used to strengthen the efforts of advocates, civil society, policy makers, and funders to translate evidence into action.
Transparent data enables accountability by making gaps visible and actionable, leading to informed global advocacy and decision making that improves equity in PrEP access worldwide. The evidence collected and housed on PrEPWatch, especially through the Global PrEP Tracker, is more critical than ever as the current US administration dismantles USAID and increasingly restricts access to data. In May 2026, AVAC documented the drastic declines in PrEP initiations following cuts to PEPFAR in 2025.
A Brief History of PrEPWatch: Anticipating the results of the tenofovir PrEP trials
In 2005, with early clinical trials of oral tenofovir for PrEP underway and quite controversial, AVAC began tracking the early clinical trials – and the criticisms of them – in the report Will a Pill a Day Prevent HIV? It outlined key information about tenofovir, how it could be used to prevent HIV, tracking details on the status of clinical trials worldwide and surfaced insights, recommendations, and key questions about research ethics, product availability, and equitable access. Critically, it pushed the field to proactively consider and plan for equitable, comprehensive scale-up, should the pill work to prevent HIV.
The report became the foundation for PrEPWatch, which more than two decades later serves as the global resource for information, investigation and documentation for all PrEP products, both approved and in development.
Today, PrEPWatch hosts over 1,000 resources and attracts over 90,000 visitors annually. As the platform expands, so does its recognition as a trusted data source for media outlets, researchers, advocates, and other stakeholders. As Wesley Sundquist, biochemist at the University of Utah and one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2025 for groundbreaking research leading to the development of lenacapavir for PrEP (LEN), said about resources on LEN rollout: “This information is particularly valuable for me because I don’t follow the latest developments in the rollout nearly as closely as you do; it’s enormously useful for me to hear about this and transmit it accurately.”
The reach and visibility of PrEPWatch demonstrates the broad circulation of essential prevention resources and their fieldwide utility. From a single report 22 years ago, PrEPWatch has evolved into a trusted global resource that supports a broad network of informed stakeholders to engage with data to advance prevention and strengthen the overall HIV response.
Data transparency and accountability promote equity for PrEP access worldwide
One of the most powerful PrEPWatch resources is The Global PrEP Tracker — a comprehensive database with more than 15 years of country-specific data on PrEP initiations, uptake, and regulatory approvals. Updated on a quarterly basis, the dataset enables users to conduct country comparisons and analyses of trends over time, and surfaces insights on progress, setbacks, gaps, and inequities of PrEP availability and access worldwide. This historical and easily accessible dataset is a powerful tool for advocates, policymakers, and implementers to better understand national and regional data as they develop contextually relevant HIV prevention strategies and priorities.
Timely and actionable evidence supports coordinated and accelerated introduction of new prevention tools
As new prevention options emerge, maintaining access to timely, reliable information is critical to ensure effective planning, coordination, and scale-up. Lenacapavir offers the newest and one of the most tangible opportunities to curb the epidemic. It has surpassed previous milestones for the speed of regulatory approvals, guideline development, generic licensing and product introduction compared to previous PrEP products. At every step in the process from disseminating trial results to rollout, PrEPWatch has provided up to the minute resources and information to support LEN introduction and scale-up.
Across the early adopter countries of LEN for PrEP, national governments, supported by advocates, civil society organizations, and donors, used these resources to develop country-specific guidelines, implementation roadmaps, and projections for product demand and supply. As LEN introduction and scale up progresses, PrEPWatch remains essential to ensuring responsive evidence is available to support accelerated roll out, transforming innovation into real-world impact for communities.
“PrEPWatch is an invaluable clearinghouse to access global PrEP guidelines and resources for PrEP implementation. WHO is proud to have their documents included on this one-stop shop.”
—Michelle Rodolph
Leads HIV prevention and PrEP activities, World Health Organization
Sustaining access to credible evidence is a shared responsibility and commitment
PrEPWatch is an open-access platform across the HIV prevention ecosystem built on the collective contributions of partners and collaborators. Data, insights, updates, and resources are shared, synthesized, and translated to ensure accuracy and availability to a wide variety of stakeholders that are shaping policy, driving implementation, and advocating for equitable access to HIV prevention. As the pipeline continues to expand, AVAC and Access Bridge will ensure PrEPWatch remains responsive by providing comprehensive and timely resources that improve product introduction and access.