Avac Event
This is an ongoing series which occurs on the first Monday of alternating months and moderated by Drs. Patrick Sullivan (Emory Center for AIDS Research) and Kenneth Mayer (Harvard University Center for AIDS Research).
In August, AVAC Executive Director Mitchell Warren presented. Watch the presentation below. Download his slides.
Avac Event
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has emerged as a critical tool in the global HIV prevention response. Despite its proven efficacy, global uptake of oral PrEP has been slower than anticipated, falling short of UNAIDS’ 2025 targets. However, several countries have successfully scaled up oral PrEP, and in the process learnt significant lessons, many of which they are already applying to introduce newer long-acting (LA) PrEP options such as the dapivirine vaginal ring (DVR) and injectable cabotegravir (CAB), and in planning for the introduction of the recently FDA approved twice yearly injectable lenacapavir (LEN).
This webinar aimed to increase momentum around ARV-based HIV prevention by highlighting key opportunities and challenges in scaling up PrEP. Drawing on findings from AVAC’s recent report, “Getting PrEP Rollout Right This Time: Lessons from the Field” (June 2025), the session shared country-level insights and effective interventions to support PrEP adherence and uptake. It reinforced the need for robust, context-driven strategies to accelerate equitable access to these critical prevention tools.
The specific objectives of this webinar were:
Avac Event
If you are attending the International AIDS Society Conference (IAS), be sure to join AVAC and the Ministry of Health, Zambia for this vital conversation.
Avac Event
Join us for a conversation about STI and HIV testing in the modern era with dialogue from both health care providers and patient perspectives.
During this webinar attendees will learn about:
Avac Event
↪ Click for IAS 2025 resources and for our updates from the conference
The IAS 2025 conference in Kigali will go down as a critical turning point in the history of the HIV response. Every session, every meeting, every presentation played out against an existential threat: will the world find the courage and political will to end the HIV epidemic, with tremendous advances in technology underway, or will the momentum seen through 2024 collapse as evidence-based interventions fall way to ideology?
Leaders across the field are persevering to push forward the science, policies, programs and partnerships that are essential to achieve impact; and they are calling for solidarity. Advocates are leading the way, cutting a path and demanding equity, human rights and community leadership. WACI Health’s Rosemary Mburu captured this call to action at the opening session, saying “Community action is not the soft side of science — it’s what gives science its soul, its reach, and its relevance.”
New research on the HIV prevention pipeline is expected to be shared alongside evidence on how the dismantling of foreign aid and the retreat from US commitments to science and global health are impacting lives and livelihoods. Every aspect of the HIV response is under attack — from basic research and clinical development to policy, programs, and global access to life-saving treatment and prevention.
See AVAC’s new report, which lays out what’s needed at this critical time to get HIV prevention into the hands of those that need it most, and join us Monday, July 14 for a satellite session, Re-imagining prevention: Ensuring sustainable PrEP access in an evolving funding context.
Use AVAC’s Roadmap to find sessions where prevention and the larger issues of global health equity and sustainability are in the spotlight. You can download it as a sortable spreadsheet or PDF.
(All times listed are local in Kigali, Rwanda. See the time zone converter here.)
Sunday, July 13
Monday, July 14
Tuesday, July 15
Wednesday, July 16
Thursday, July 17
Avac Event
The International AIDS Society (IAS) is partnering with the International Society for Vaccines (ISV) to host a virtual mini-symposium on HIV vaccine research and development (R&D). Be sure to take up this unique opportunity to engage with cutting-edge research and contribute to the ongoing dialogue around HIV vaccine development.
Event speakers
Part of ISV’s quarterly Mini Symposia series, this session brings together global leaders in HIV vaccine R&D to share the latest research, challenges and breakthroughs in the field.
Join us in a discussion with:
Avac Event
While the HIV prevention buffet will soon offer a second form of long acting injectable PrEP, ensuring access to all those who can benefit requires innovations in service delivery such as task shifting. In the United States, two Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) have implemented programming that has expanded clinic capacity, resulting in more individuals being able to choose long acting injectable PrEP. We also heard about innovative efforts to expand PrEP access in South Africa and learned what it takes to integrate task shifting for long-acting PrEP injection programs. We discussed other ways we can collectively innovate to support expanded, sustainable access to all forms of PrEP.
Speakers:
Moderator:
Materials:
Avac Event
On June 11, AVAC hosted a conversation, The Scientific Journey of Lenacapavir: From basic science to clinical development to impact, to explore how US support from NIH for basic science and South Africa’s clinical research infrastructure made possible the development of lenacapavir for PrEP (LEN), a discovery in HIV prevention that went on to be named Science magazine’s 2024 Breakthrough of the Year.
As the field anticipates initial regulatory approval from the US FDA by June 19 and a WHO recommendation in July, Linda-Gail Bekker of the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation, Wes Sundquist of the University of Utah and Mitchell Warren of AVAC underscored how this moment of promise is threatened by sweeping attacks on science, research and the very systems that made the development of LEN possible.
Avac Event
Join HIV cure advocates and the Afrovive Health Foundation executive director to discuss the latest on HIV cure research.
Featuring:
Meeting Details:
12pm EAT. Join via Microsoft Teams.
Avac Event
The Towards an HIV Cure programme of IAS – the International AIDS Society – invites you to a webinar, titled “On the road to IAS 2025: Scientific highlights in HIV cure research”.
This webinar will set the scene for the pre-conference, “Co-infections, viral and host diversity: Impact on HIV cure strategies”, taking place on 13 July at IAS 2025, the 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science. It will highlight key scientific developments presented at CROI 2025 and the Keystone Symposia, “HIV Cure: Antiretroviral-Free Control of HIV Infection”, and explore how these findings are shaping the HIV cure field and informing the conversation leading up to IAS 2025.
Confirmed Speakers