AVAC with the Global AIDS Policy Partnership (GAPP) hosted a global Zoom webinar on HIV prevention entitled: “Innovations and Challenges of PEPFAR Prevention Programming during the COVID-19 pandemic”
The webinar opened with a presentation by staff from the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator on prevention programming, followed by a moderated panel discussion.

Speakers and Panelists

Sara Klucking, Senior Technical Adviser and Acting Director, Office of Research and Science, US Department of State, Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and OGAC colleagues Janet Saul, Erin Eckstein and Jennifer Cole.

Panel Discussion Moderator: Keifer Buckingham, Open Society Foundations.

Panelists: Marineus Mutongore, Chair of the Key and Vulnerable Population Forum in Tanzania, Kudakwashe Murombedzi, Senior Technical Advisor for VMMC Communications on the USAID-funded EMPOWER project in Malawi and Sara Klucking, OGAC.

Webinar in Brief

The recent Global Fund Results report, as well as some early reports from PEPFAR countries, have suggested that HIV prevention activities have been more greatly affected as the COVID-19 pandemic has swept through many countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. This webinar explores how different PEPFAR prevention programs (the DREAMS program, voluntary medical male circumcision, PrEP and behavioral interventions) fared, and what innovations are being used to keep prevention on track.

Downloads

• Recording
• Slides

On September 28, IPPFWHR and AVAC partners held the webinar Advancing HIV Prevention & SRHR for Adolescent Girls and Young Women in the Time of COVID. The webinar opened with remarks from Serra Sippel, Chief Global Advocacy Officer at IPPFWHR, and included a conversation with six young women advocates from Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The panel was moderated by Liz Ford, Deputy Editor for The Guardian‘s Global Development website. The panelists were:

• Cathering Madebe – Mulika, Tanzania
• Dr. Lilian Mwakyosi – Tayoa, Tanzania
• Mtisunge Mikaya – MANASO, Malawi
• Sekani Tchuwa – Coalition of Women Living with HIV and AIDS, Malawi/li>
• Naledi Katsande – Youth for Health Promotion, Zimbabwe
• Queen Bee Meki – Trans & Intersex Rising, Zimbabwe

The recording will be posted shortly.

New research from AVAC and partners shows promising approaches to reach adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) with comprehensive and integrated services for HIV and sexual and reproductive health (SRH), including expanding access to existing and future PrEP products. On October 14, we were joined by representatives from the Ministries of Health in Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe for this webinar to discuss findings, progress to date and context-specific realities.

Moderators

• Jessica Rodrigues, AVAC
• Sara Allinder, Georgetown University Center for Innovation in Global Health
• Anna Miti, Humanitarian Information Facilitation Centre

Speakers

• Ruth Kamau, National AIDS & STI Control Programme (NASCOP), Ministry of Health, Kenya
• Fannie Kachale, Department of Reproductive Health, Ministry of Health, Malawi
• Getrude Ncube, Department of AIDS & TB, Ministry of Health and Child Care, Zimbabwe
• Jacque Wambui, AfroCAB Treatment Access Partnership, Kenya
• Barbra Ncube, Pangaea Zimbabwe AIDS Trust (PZAT), Zimbabwe

Downloads

Recording: YouTube
Slides: Kenya / Malawi / Zimbabwe

On October 14th, WACI Health led a roundtable discussion focused on domestic resource mobilization. WACI Health also unveiled a Situation Analysis Report on Domestic Resource Mobilization for Health Research and Development in Africa. The report was commissioned by WACI Health and partners in an effort to identify gaps, strengths and opportunities in health research funding. Among others, the report aims at informing strategy and advocacy for all stakeholders committed to expanding the resource envelope for health research and development (R&D) in Africa.

Watch the recording here.

On October 12, the South Africa Health Technologies Advocacy Coalition (SAHTAC) in partnership with PATH and Campaigning for Cancer hosted the webinar Diversity and Gender Equity in Health R&D. The purpose of the webinar was to discuss and understand the barriers, challenges and how to achieve diversity and gender equity in Health R&D. The aim was also to understand and explore how to promote equitable access to health products. SAHTAC’s Primary Outcome 4 is targeting for increased salience of diversity and gender equity in health research. This outcome focusses on both diversity and gender equity in research participation and equitable access to health products. SAHTAC aims to strengthen champions (research participants, community stakeholders, scientists, CSOs, government) to advance issues regarding equitable access to health products.

Watch the recording.

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.