Avac Event

Reality Check About “Global” COVID-19 Vaccine Production

On Thursday, November 4th, award-winning journalist Stephanie Nolen joined AVAC to discuss the findings and backstory of her recent New York Times investigation,”Here’s Why Developing Countries Can Make mRNA COVID Vaccines.” During the webinar, Stephanie, AVAC and partners explored where we are in the fight to bring COVID mRNA vaccine manufacturing to the places where doses are needed most, in countries where vaccine access has been grievously stalled. We also talked through her report and discussed the parallels with HIV.

Speakers:

  • Mitchell Warren, AVAC
  • Stephanie Nolen, New York Times
  • Zain Rizvi, Public Citizen

Watch the recording and download the transcript.

Avac Event

What Does the Future Hold for Long Acting Injectable PrEP?

With long-acting injectable PrEP coming to market, how can we mitigate barriers and adopt the intervention widely in high-risk settings? On Wednesday, November 10, Evidence to Action, the webinar series hosted by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), heard from experts at Johns Hopkins University, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), AVAC, Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health (APCOM), and EGPAF on what’s new in PrEP, the present and future of long-acting injectables, what actions to take for optimal implementation and how we can better enable access in key populations.

Speakers to Include:

  • Opening Remarks: Anja Giphart, EGPAF

  • An overview of long-acting technologies and strategies in development for PrEP: Charles Flexner, Johns Hopkins University of Medicine

  • Reflecting on implementation of biomedical prevention interventions to date in the context of implementation of long-acting injectables and new products: Robyn Eakle, USAID

  • Priority actions to enable uptake of new products: Mitchell Warren, AVAC

  • How this will effect key populations and how we work alongside key pops to drive awareness around technical and practical aspects: Midnight Poonkasetwatana, APCOM

  • Concerns about making long term decisions on medication in the postpartum period: Dee Mphafi, EGPAF Youth Advocate

  • Moderated Discussion: Natella Rakhmanina, EGPAF

Downloads:

Avac Event

World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day takes place on 1 December every year. It’s an opportunity for everyone to support people living with HIV/AIDS, commemorate those we have lost, take stock of the tireless work being done worldwide and re-energize advocacy efforts to end the epidemic.

Avac Event

GPP Implementation Symposium

AVAC, USAID, PEPFAR and WITS RHI are hosting the Implementers Symposium on Good Participatory Practice (GPP), November 22-24. The agenda covers how new models of GPP are being used, how to advocate for post trial access to prevention products and more!

View this flyer for more information and links to sessions.

Avac Event

ICASA 2021

As of Sunday, December 5th, ICASA has gone all virtual. Here are instructions for how to access ICASA 2021 online portal.

The biennial International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa, ICASA, will take place this year December 6-11, in Durban South Africa (register here). As of this publication, the conference offers both virtual and in-person access to the sessions, but health protocols may change. Check the ICASA site for the latest updates.

ICASA offers an African platform for leaders, scientists, activists and community to frame the challenges, track the science and push innovation in the HIV response.

This year’s conference features discussions on a response to the dual pandemics of HIV and COVID-19 that:

  • Dismantles the structural barriers to health faced by key populations
  • Intensifies demands for robust domestic and global funding for health
  • Accelerates and expands access to prevention options
  • Integrates HIV services with sexual and reproductive health

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

Sessions of Interest

Sunday, December 5

Youth Pre-conference
09:00-16:00 SAST / 11:00-15:00 EAT / 02:00-09:00 ET
Open to all young people, join this event for workshops, break-out sessions and discussions on youth leadership, resilience and innovation toward the 2030 targets for ending the epidemic. Organized by Y+. Free and open to all.
Register here.

Gay, Bi-sexual and Men who have Sex with Men (GBMSM) preconference
11:00-16:30 SAST / 12:00-17:30 EAT / 04:00-09:30 ET
Join health and human rights advocates at this combination virtual and in-person event to take stock of the status of advocacy and activism, kickstart a conversation on sustainability for GBMSM programming across Africa, and define aspirations for health and rights going forward. Organized by Black Gay Men Connect, PAI, UKPC, Fierté Afrique Francophone, APHA, GALZ, GHPN Ke and AVAC. Free and open to all.
Register here.

Monday, December 6

PSI: Realizing the Benefits of U=U in National HIV Programs
10:40-11:25 SAST / 11:40-12:25 EAT / 03:40-04:25 ET
This session explores the prevention impact of supporting people living with HIV to remain virally suppressed, and the importance of programming that understands that undetectable HIV is untransmissible, U=U.

Examining How National Laws/Policies Impact the Global AIDS Response
11:35-12:15 SAST / 12:35-13:15 EAT / 04:35-05:15 ET
This special session will draw from insights and analysis from the HIV Policy Lab and feature a panel discussion on the intersection of policy, equity and ending the epidemic.

The Biomedical HIV Prevention Forum pre-conference
12:25-15:00 SAST / 13:25-16:00 EAT / 05:25-08:00 ET
This event, available for virtual participation, will bring together front-line providers, advocates, community, researchers and policy makers to frame what’s needed now for HIV prevention in Africa, in the context of COVID-19. Discussions will include updates on scientific advances, and how to strengthen African-led advocacy for prevention research. The gathering will also put a spotlight on advocacy to beef up domestic spending on health systems and research in Africa.
Register here.

PROMISE Collaboration: Launching PrEP-it 2.0
13:30-14:05 SAST / 14:30-15:05 EAT / 06:30-07:05 ET
This satellite symposia explores an innovative online platform for planning, monitoring and evaluating PrEP agents. This session will showcase how the platform has been used to set evidence-based targets, project costs and estimate impact.

Tuesday, December 7

No Prevention, No End. Taking the lead in implement the 2025 HIV Roadmap
10:42-11:27 SAST / 11:42-12:27 EAT / 03:42-04:27 ET
This session looks at the recommendations from the Global HIV Prevention Coalitions Working Group to reach key goals by 2025. Discussion will also focus on the role of political and community leadership and successful practices in the HIV response.

Resource Mobilization for HIV, TB, Malaria and Pandemic Preparedness
13:30-15:30 SAST / 14:30-16:30 EAT / 06:30-08:30 ET
For those attending ICASA in person, this event looks at factors shaping health financing, and extends the ongoing conversation on increasing domestic spending on the health sector. At the Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani, sponsored by the GFAN Africa and the Global Fund.

Wednesday, December 8

Providing Alternative HIV Prevention Tools For High-risk Populations in Eastern Africa. Dapivirine Ring Could be a Game Changer
10:30-11:15 SAST / 11:30-12:15 EAT / 03:30-04:15 ET
A look at the potential impact of this new addition to the HIV prevention toolbox and next steps to make it accessible.

The Dual Prevention Pill (DPP): What advocates need and want to know
17:00-18:00 SAST / 18:00-19:00 EAT / 10:00-11:00 ET
Join AVAC and AYARHEP for a discussion on the Dual Prevention Pill (DPP), a combination pill in development that prevents HIV and pregnancy. If approved, it would be the first multipurpose prevention technology (MPT) available since male and female condoms. What information on the DPP do you need to inform your advocacy? We hope you’ll join the discussion!

Thursday, December 9

Biomedical HIV prevention for men in a time of a pandemic: Amplifying our gains and increasing in scale, impact, and sustainability of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) beyond 2021
13:33-14:18 SAST / 14:33-15:18 EAT / 06:33-07:18 ET
This satellite session looks at the impact of VMMC and how to sustain it. A panel discussion will focus on action steps needed from implementers, policy makers, civil society and other decision-makers.

Conducting 2nd Generation surveillance during a pandemic in Nigeria: lessons learnt
13:33-14:18 SAST / 14:33-15:18 EAT / 06:33-07:18 ET
Nigeria’s efforts to maintain HIV services during COVID-19 offer key lessons for the field.

What’s new from WHO: “Guidelines for validation of elimination of mother to child/vertical transmission of HIV, STI and Hepatitis
14:30-15:15 SAST / 15:30-16:15 EAT / 07:00-08:15 ET
Updates on the WHO guidelines and their implications for HIV prevention and HIV services.

The highlights above represent an extraordinary body of work that is urgently needed right now. And this is just a small sample. To follow happenings and discussions from ICASA watch this space, and follow #ICASA2021 on Twitter.

Avac Event

Webinar on Omicron and HIV with Salim Abdool Karim

On December 15, the COVID Advocates Advisory Board (CAAB) and AVAC held a webinar about the Omicron variant featuring Salim Abdool Karim, director of the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA). Karim shared the latest updates and what questions are being pursued about Omicron, vaccines and any potential connections to HIV.

For background, read a commentary Karim co-authored with Quarraisha Abdool Karim in The Lancet, Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant: a new chapter in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Watch the recording.

Avac Event

Ups & Downs in the Field: Setting an Agenda Together for HIV Prevention in 2022

summary thumbnail

This webinar reviewed the latest advances, opportunities and disappointments in HIV prevention and provided an opportunity to address key questions including: where we are with the introduction of injectable cabotegravir and the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring; the development status (including setbacks) of promising new PrEP agents; and how to ensure HIV prevention and equitable access to innovation do not fall further behind; and much more.

This webinar featured the perspectives of Linda-Gail Bekker from South Africa’s Desmond Tutu Health Foundation (and AVAC’s board); Grace Kumwenda of Pakachere Institute of Health and Development Communication in Malawi and Kenneth Mwehonge, the new executive director of Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development (HEPS-Uganda) — both former AVAC Fellows — and Rachel Baggaley from the World Health Organization.

View the recording / Download the slides / Read the summary

Avac Event

Webinar: Understanding—And Improving—COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake

summary thumbnail

In collaboration with the COVID Advocates Advisory Board (CAAB) and the Coalition to Accelerate and Support Prevention Research (CASPR), this webinar, moderated by WACI Health’s Rosemary Mburu, looked closely at how global health leaders are tackling public resistance to COVID-19 vaccines, and lessons for the HIV field.

Speakers included: John Nkengasong, current director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention; Heidi Larson, founding director of the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; and Kate Hopkins, Director of Research, Vaccine Acceptance & Demand at the Sabin Vaccine Institute.

View the recording / Read the summary

Avac Event

Webinar: Oral PrEP Implementation and Implications for Next Generation PrEP

This webinar discussed insights from oral PrEP programs and how these experiences can inform faster, smarter and more affordable rollout of next-generation HIV prevention products. It featured:

summary thumbnail

  • AVAC’s Jessica Rodrigues opened the meeting with background on PrEP uptake globally and regionally, noting that due to rapid scale-up, approximately 69 percent of cumulative PrEP initiations have now occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa. (View the slides.)
  • Saiqa Mullick of Wits RHI shared lessons from South Africa’s experience scaling up oral PrEP from 2016, when PrEP was offered only to sex workers at a handful of clinics, to 2021, with PrEP broadly available in more than 2,000 public health facilities. (View slides.)
  • Daniel Were of Jhpiego described the Jilinde Project’s successful efforts to increase demand and dismantle stigma surrounding PrEP. (View slides.)
  • Joseph Murungu of Pangaea Zimbabwe AIDS Trust (PZAT) shared a dynamic, client-centered approach to ensure that PrEP programs respond to the needs of young people. (View slides.)

Watch the recording / Read the summary

Avac Event

Are We PrEPared this Time? Ensuring a Swift Translation of Research into Community Impact

First approved in 2012, roll out of oral PrEP has been slow, uneven, and marked by troubling and unacceptable uptake disparities across race/ethnicity, gender and geography. In 2019, less than 25 percent of people eligible for PrEP in the US received a prescription. Late last year, the US FDA approved a new PrEP agent called Apretude, an injectable, longer-acting PrEP option. While hopes are high for this intervention, it is replete with challenges from both the user as well as the delivery sides of the equation.

The AIDS Foundation Chicago, AVAC and an array of speakers spoke on what must happen to ensure swift translation of positive research results into community impact. What follows are a set of resources from the webinar.

Resources

Recording / Slides

Sign On Letter
Requesting that the Biden administration include in his upcoming budget request $400 million to create a National PrEP Grant Program. Organizations can sign here.

Resources Shared