On September 5, there was a conversation with Dr. Carl Dieffenbach, the Director of the Division of AIDS (DAIDS) at the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, about the future of investments in the US National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) HIV clinical trial research networks in the US and internationally.

Every seven years, the NIH reviews the structure and funding of its HIV clinical research networks. This “network recompetition” process involves decisions will help determine the focus and priorities of its HIV clinical trial networks through 2027, as well as the number and structures of the various networks that undertake this research. These are critical questions for advocates to weigh in on—whether you are in the US or not. Learn more with our factsheet.

The webinar included a brief introductory presentation from Dr. Carl Dieffenbach followed by a Q&A session. NIAID is also currently accepting public comments and questions online, so now is your chance!

Recording: YouTube / Audio / Slides

On Friday, October 27, there was the second webinar in a series with Dr. Carl Dieffenbach, the Director of the Division of AIDS (DAIDS) at the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, about the future of investments in the US National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) HIV clinical trial research networks in the US and internationally. A recording of the first webinar is available here.

As background, every seven years, the NIH reviews the structure and funding of its HIV clinical research networks. This “network recompetition” process involves decisions that will help determine the focus and priorities of its HIV clinical trial networks through 2027, as well as the number and structures of the various networks that undertake this research. These are critical questions for advocates to weigh in on—whether you are in the US or not. Learn more with our factsheet.

The webinar included a brief introductory presentation from Dr. Carl Dieffenbach followed by a Q&A session. NIAID is also accepting public comments and questions online until November 30, 2017, so now is your chance!

Recording: YouTube / Audio / Slides

The International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018), a biennial gathering for those working in the field of HIV, including policy makers, persons living with HIV and other individuals committed to ending the epidemic, was held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Dispatches from Amsterdam

AVAC posted live updates from Amsterdam on Twitter and Facebook. We also offered more in-depth updates via our Advocates’ Network. Take a look:

• What’s Right — And What’s Not — On the Road Toward Epidemic Control – August 3, 2018
• AIDS 2018: The Story is Vulnerable – July 26, 2018
• AIDS 2018: The Story is Messy – July 23, 2018

Insight to Impact: Driving Demand Creation for HIV Prevention

This day-long pre-conference session at AIDS 2018 showcased world-class solutions to increase demand for HIV prevention options. Public health and communication experts led interactive talks and explored case studies of communication strategies.

Selected Posters and Presentations from AIDS 2018

Presentations

• Advocacy Agenda for PrEP in Trials and SRH Services?
• There May Be Harm in Not Asking: The state of behavioral & social science research in global HIV prevention research
• Update on the Evidence for Contraceptive Options and HIV Outcomes (ECHO) Trial
• Factors Influencing Initiation, Continuation & Discontinuation of Oral PrEP at Selected Facilities in South Africa: Findings from the ACCESS Study
• FP2020 Hormonal Contraception and HIV AIDS2018 Presentation
• PEPFAR Session 9: HIV Prevention in Men
• Demand Creation for HIV Prevention: A look back; a look ahead
• Getting PrEP to Where it is Needed Most: Opinions in Africa
• What’s New; What’s Next: A quick overview of the Px Pipeline
• Setting the Stage for PrEP: Where are we now, and where should we go?
• Breaking the Cyble of Transmission: Increasing adoption of and adherence to HIV prevention among adolescent girls and young women and increasing uptake of HIV testing, prevention and treatment amoung young men
• Insight to Impact Introduction

Posters

• Modeling the Potential Impact of the Dapivirine Ring for HIV Prevention
• Adolescent Girls and Young Women as End Users of HIV Prevention in Sub-Saharan Africa: Mapping ongoing and planned research along the HIV prevention journey to inform product introduction
• There May Be Harm in Not Asking: The state of behavioral and social science and end-user research in global HIV prevention research
• Tracking Oral PrEP Globally: Using initiation trend data to inform product introduction
• Where Does the Buck Stop?: Analysis of HIV prevention research and development (R&D) direct and country focused investments in sub-Saharan Africa

Global Village Zones

Research Literacy Networking Zone and HIV Prevention Marketplace
AVAC, in partnership with AfNHi, EATG, NHVMAS, TAG, and Wits RHI, hosted the Research Literacy Networking Zone at AIDS 2018. The RLNZ brought together advocates, researchers, community educators and local community members to network and discuss ongoing and planned HIV prevention, cure, treatment and implementation research.

See the schedule of events!

At AIDS 2018, the RLNZ also partnered with the HIV Prevention Marketplace Zone, hosted by a number seasoned HIV prevention advocates from east and Southern Africa who are Alumni of or currently participants in AVAC’s HIV Prevention Advocacy Fellows program. This Marketplace Zone was a space where HIV prevention advocates, delegates and community members came together to network, strategize and have informal discussions on current and future HIV prevention strategies as well as rollout of new interventions.

HIV Prevention Roadmap

The International AIDS Conference included hundreds of sessions, side events, marches and meetings—many focused on HIV prevention research and implementation. We had an Excel version, sortable by focus, and a PDF version.

Pre-Conferences and Satellite Sessions

Below are details on select pre-conferences and satellites that AVAC and partners are participated in!

• Insight to Impact: Driving demand creation for HIV prevention, July 21, 9:00–18:00
• HIV Cure Research with the Community Workshop, July 21, 9:00–18:00
• Our Bodies, Our Fight: Uniting the movements for HIV/AIDS and safe abortion care, July 21, 13:30–17:30
• U=U 2018: Celebrate, activate & implement!, July 22, 8:30–17:00
• Changing the Game in Adolescent-Centered Design: Assets, Access, Adherence, July 22, 9:30-16:30
• Condoms 2.0: Reinvigorating effective condom programming in the era of epidemic control, July 23, 8:00-10:00
• Hormonal Contraception and HIV Risk at the Crossroads: What do the latest research, advocacy and program developments mean for women, providers and programs? (flyer for download) July 23, 10:15–12:15
• Leadership for HIV Primary Prevention: The global HIV prevention coalition, July 23, 12:30–14:30
• PrEP in Practice: Experiences from delivering PrEP in the field, July 25, 18:30–20:30
• HIV Prevention Targets 2020: A fast track to where?, July 25, 18:30–20:30
• Should PrEP be Included as a Standard of Care in SRH Trials and Services?, July 26, 7:00–8:30
• Anal Sex from Top to Bottom: Beliefs, behaviors and policies for better health, July 26, 18:30–20:30
• Getting PrEP to Where it’s Needed Most: A global conversation led by African men who have sex with men (MSM) (flyer for download) July 26, 18:30–20:30

[UPDATED: Slides and audio from the webinars are now available.]

The annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections featured over 4,000 researchers, advocates, implementers—and a couple big snowstorms—along with a range of scientific findings of great interest to prevention advocates.

Join us to dig into the data with researchers and discuss with fellow advocates how these findings can inform our advocacy work moving forward.

Webinar Series

• Latest on the Dapivirine Ring with Zeda Rosenberg and Jared Baeten; Thursday, March 29 — slides and recording available
• Risk of HIV for Pregnant and Post-Partum Women with Renee Heffron and Kerry Thomson; Wednesday, April 11 — slides and recording available
• Introducing Oral PrEP: A step-by-step framework, tools and updates; Wednesday,
  April 18 — slides and recording available

We will be adding additional webinars over the next couple of weeks, so please do stay tuned for additions to the schedule!

Conference Coverage

We’ve rounded up a selection of conference highlights, which are posted on our P-Values blog—check out it here!

For comprehensive coverage of the conference check out the excellent work from aidsmap. Resources from the UNAIDS and WHO co-organized update to staff and beyond on the Latest HIV science from CROI 2018 are now accessible.

CROI Program and Webcast

CROI provides a number of ways to review what happened in Boston: check out the full program; abstracts and e-posters; and webcasts of all sessions.

The 19th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA 2017) was held December 4-9 in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire and organized sessions under the theme Africa: Ending AIDS-delivering differently. AVAC was there along with many of our partners participating in sessions both before and during the conference. Below we’ve provided overview materials and highlighted key sessions and issues.

Biomedical HIV Prevention Forum (BHPF) Pre-conference Session
Hosted by the New HIV Vaccine and Microbicide Advocacy Society (NHVMAS), in collaboration with a number of partners including WACI Health and the Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA), this session explored data trends in Africa, hot topics in prevention research and African leadership in prevention research. Check out this blog covering the forum by Morenike Oluwatoyin Folayan of the New HIV Vaccine and Microbicide Advocacy Society (NHVMAS)! Find more information at the BHPF website.

Key Population Pre-Conference Session
Hosted by African Men for Sexual and Health Rights (AMSHeR), African Sex Workers Alliance (ASWA), Gender Dynamix/Southern Africa Trans Forum, the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) and other networks of key populations (KP), the theme for this pre-conference session was Onto the African Map: Youth Key Populations and HIV.

Satellite Session
WHO and the OPTIONS Consortium sponsored a session titled, Making the Case for PrEP for Women: What we know and experiences to date to provide an overview what we know and have learned about delivering oral PrEP to women, in particular adolescent girls and young women. Presenters reviewed the evidence, the status of oral PrEP rollout for women, and opportunities for oral PrEP delivery for women through the private sector. A facilitated panel with the audience discussed the challenges, innovative solutions and future direction for Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Satellite Session
Health GAP and AVAC hosted a workshop on the planning process for PEPFAR’s Country Operational Plans (COP). Advocates learned about changes to the 2018 process, reviewed advocacy resources, explored strategies to increase PEPFAR investment in community priorities and tried out tools for analyzing PEPFAR data.

ICASA on Social Media
See the social media conversation on all things ICASA via the hashtag #ICASA2017. AVAC also covered the conference on Facebook and Twitter.

On Tuesday, November 21, there was a joint amfAR, AVAC, Health Gap webinar in a PEPFAR Watch series focusing on PEPFAR data interpretation with Brian Honermann, Deputy Director for Policy at amfAR. The webinar covered:

• How PEPFAR presents data in public settings such as country operational plans (COP) meetings
• How to interpret common PEPFAR graphs and charts
• Methods that have been used to question/intervene in relation to different data areas and targets

Recording: YouTube / Audio / Slides

Researchers Renee Heffron and Kerry Thomson discussed their data that showed women who were pregnant or post-partum were 3-4 times more likely to acquire HIV. They review the data presented at CROI 2018 and discuss implications for care and prevention.

Recording: YouTube / Audio / Slides

Additional Resources:

• WHO: Preventing HIV during pregnancy and breastfeeding in the context of PrEP
• PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board PrEP and Pregnancy Working Group