Avac Event

Global HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Events

On May 18 every year, HIV prevention advocates around the world raise their voices about the urgent need to continue the search for a safe and effective AIDS vaccine, and especially to recognize the enormous contribution of the thousands of volunteers who have participated in vaccine trials, without which this research would not be possible.

Here is a partial list of events that happened all around the world.

Where: Bangkok, Thailand
What: Lunchtime Briefing at Mahidol University

Details: “What’s new in HIV Vaccine?” with presentations by Dr Nakorn Premsri, Dr Supachai Rerks-ngarm, Dr Soachai Nitayaphan and Dr Robert O-Connell, moderated by Professor Punnee Pitisuttithum and introduced by Dean Professor Yaowalak Sukthana.

If you want to attend: 11.30am-1.00pm, Mahidol University, School of Tropical Medicine, 5th Floor, Chalermprakiat 50 years building

Where: New York City
What: Vaccine-o-licious: Free night of entertainment and education

Details: Vaccine-o-licious is an annual event designed to spread the word about HIV Vaccine Awareness Day. The event brings together a variety of performers uniting through dance and song. Peppermint, the NYC Queen of Vaccine, will host this exciting evening of entertainment, with a little education too!

If you want to attend: 6.30-10.30pm, Santos Party House, 96 Lafayette St. Click here to reserve your free tickets.

Where: Uganda
What: National print and radio features

Details:

Where: Kenya and Uganda
What: Media, civil society and community events

Details:
Kenya

  • May 14 – Media Breakfast Roundtable
  • May 15 – A Civil Society Leaders’ forum on advances in HIV Vaccine R&D
  • May 18 – A Community Event with fanfare and speeches in one research community in Kenya

Uganda

  • May 14 – Community medical outreach with Family Planning (FP), HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT) and general treatment
  • May 15 – Community Event, including community service (cleaning), sporting activities and speeches

Where: South Africa – clinical trial site communities of Nyanga and Masiphumelele
What: Community events

Details: From 18-22 May a series of events at and around research clinical trial sites will bring community stakeholders together to 1) commemorate people who have passed due to HIV related illnesses, and 2) present updates on HIV prevention research. The events will feature:

  • The progress with regards to HIV vaccines
  • The promise of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has as a prevention tool
  • Results of clinical studies that have both excited and disappointed the field:
    • FACTS – showed that experimental vaginal gel was not effective in preventing HIV among young women, and that
    • ADAPT – showed that when South African women take PrEP daily, they will be much less likely to acquire HIV from HIV-positive sex partners

Communities will be challenged to support through participation or encourage families, neighbors and all people in society to seek to understand and rally behind clinical research.

Avac Event

Global HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Events

AVAC is excited to be working with civil society and research partners across the globe on a number of community events to commemorate HIV Vaccine Awareness Day.

We encourage your participation if you live near any one of them! If you would like more information about an an event or if you have your own that you would like us to include on our list, please contact us at [email protected].

Also a statement from the Vaccine Interest Group in Uganda was published in The New Vision and The Daily Monitor newspapers. Take a look.

See HIV Vaccine Awareness Day events below:

New Prevention Interventions and Relevance to the MSM Community in Beijing, China

Date and Location: May 18, Beijing, China

Event Organizer: Cai Lingping, China HIV/AIDS Information Network (CHAIN)

HIV Prevention Activists on Vaccines

Date and Location: Date TBD, Nairobi, Kenya

Event Organizer: Lucy Ghati, National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK)

Creating Awareness on HIV Vaccines Among Sex Workers

Date and Location: May 18, Nairobi, Kenya

Event Organizer: Grace Kamau, Bar Hostess Empowerment and Support Program (BHESP)

HIV Vaccines for HIV Prevention: The Past, Present and Future

Date and Location: May 17, Kisumu, Kenya

Event Organizer: Simon Odiwuor

Medical Camp Highlighting the Need for Vaccines

Date and Location: June 1, Kisumu, Kenya

Event Organizer: Dr Stella Njuguna, KEMRI-RCTP

Community HIV Vaccine Research Literacy in Jos, Nigeria

Date and Location: Date TBD, Jos, Nigeria

Event Organizer: Morenike Ukpong, The New HIV Vaccine and Microbicide Advocacy Society (NHVMAS)

HIV Prevention Roundtable

Date and Location: May 23, Lagos, Nigeria

Event Organizer: Francis Umoh, Positive Action for Treatment Access (PATA)

Civil Society Symposium on Vaccine Research

Date and Location: May 17, Cape Town, South Africa

Event Organizer: Ntando Yola, Networking HIV/AIDS Community of South Africa (NACOSA)

One-Day Workshop Raising Awareness on the Importance of Vaccines, Particularly HIV Vaccines for Adults

Date and Location: May 23, Durban, South Africa

Event Organizer: Gethwana Mahlase, Zimnandi Zonke

One-Day HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Session

Date and Location: May 17, Durban, South Africa

Event Organizer: Tabita Mahlangeni, Medical Research Council/HIV Prevention Research Unit

A Series of HIV Vaccine Community Events

Date and Location: May 17, Johannesburg, South Africa

Event Organizer: Nomampondo Barnabas, Perinatal HIV Research Unit (PHRU)

Researcher and Community Roundtable

Date and Location: May 18, Bangkok, Thailand

Event Organizer: Udom Likhitwonnawut, Thai NGO Coalition on AIDS (TNCA)

Stakeholder Roundtable Discussion on AIDS Vaccine Research in Uganda

Date and Location: May 17, Kampala, Uganda

Event Organizer: Richard Hasunira, Uganda Civil Society Coalition

A Series of Radio Segments and Community Dialogue on HIV Vaccines

Date and Location: May 16 & 18, Kampala, Uganda

Event Organizer: Moses Supercharger Nsubuga, Stigmaless Band

Real Talk: What’s This I Hear About an HIV Vaccine?

Date and Location: May 17, Los Angeles, US

Event Organizer: Kieta D. Mutepfa, UCLA CARE Center

Vaccine-o-licious

Date and Location: May 5, New York City, US

Event Organizer: DaShawn Usher, Project ACHIEVE

Biomedical Interventions for an AIDS-Free Generation – Community Forum on Local PrEP and Vaccine Research

Date and Location: May 15, Oakland, US

Event Organizer: Rob Newells, Imani Community Church

A Series of Community Events on HIV Vaccine Awareness

Date and Location: May 18, Lusaka, Zambia

Event Organizer: Clever Chilende, Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign (TALC)

Media and Advocate’s Training on HIV Vaccines

Date and Location: May 16, Harare, Zimbabwe

Event Organizer: Munyaradzi Chimwara, KAIROS Zimbabwe

Sensitizing Community on the Value of HIV Vaccine Research

Date and Location: May 21, Harare, Zimbabwe

Event Organizer: Tendayi Westerhof, Womens Health, HIV and AIDS Southern Africa

Live Radio Talk Shows Focusing on Vaccines (Radio Simba, Top Radio and Radio One)

Date and Location: Staring May 14 through Week of May 20), Kampala, Uganda

Event Organizer: Dr Hannah Kibuuka and Lillian Mutengu, Makerere University Walter Reed Program

A Series of Events for Civil Society and the Media (including a Media Dialogue on HIV Vaccines)

Date and Location: May 16 & May 17, Kampala, Uganda

Event Organizer: Monica Millard and Lillian Mutengu, Makerere University Walter Reed Program

Live TV Talk Shows Focusing on Vaccines (NTV and Channel44 Television)

Date and Location: Week of May 20, Kampala, Uganda

Event Organizer: Monica Millard and Lillian Mutengu, Makerere University Walter Reed Program

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PrEP: News from studies in Europe and elsewhere

The fourth webinar in our series addressed a range of topics in HIV prevention research, hosted jointly by NAM and AVAC, and looked at the current situation regarding pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Europe and the US. Presenters discussed the ongoing IPERGAY study in France and the PROUD study in England, and reviewed progress in the NEXT-PrEP and demonstration studies in the US.

It also discussed the implications of the negative results of the recent VOICE trial. The presentations were followed by a question and answer session with our expert speakers.

Avac Event

HVTN Trial Results and Implications for Future Research

The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) accounced that the HVTN 505 AIDS vaccine clinical trial would cease immunizations early after the independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) determined during a scheduled interim review that the vaccine regimen being tested is not effective.

Trial investigators Scott Hammer and Madgalena Sobieszczyk were joined by statisticians Holly Janes and Peter Gilbert to discuss these results and take questions.

Avac Event

VOICE – What are the implications for rectal microbicide research?

Jeanne Marrazzo (VOICE protocol co-chair) and Ian McGowan (co-principal investigator of the Microbicide Trials Network) discussed the VOICE results and what they mean for the rectal microbicide field moving forward. This call was presented through a collaboration between IRMA and AVAC.

Avac Event

Introduction to Cure Research

In the wake of exciting new data presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Atlanta, AVAC hosted a webinar to review the current status on research towards an HIV/AIDS cure.

The webinar featured Steven Deeks, MD, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who discussed the latest research and what to look forward to in coming years, followed by a Q&A.

In addition, Science Speaks has a great overview of the webinar. Read “As headlines raise hopes, cure researchers manage expectations and challenges.”

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Treatment as Prevention: Evidence from Europe and beyond

This was the third webinar in our series addressing a range of topics in HIV prevention research, hosted jointly by NAM and AVAC. We were joined by an expert panel discussing treatment as prevention, who took questions following their presentations. To view the full Flash animation of the webinar, click here.

Avac Event

Global Investments in HIV Treatment Research & Development in 2010 and 2011

The Treatment Action Group (TAG) and AVAC recently released their latest report, Funding Scientific Innovation: Global Investments in HIV Treatment Research and Development in 2010 and 2011. The report, supported by UNAIDS, found US$2.6 billion was invested in HIV treatment research and development (R&D) in 2011.

The investments tracked between 2009 and 2011 demonstrate a steady—albeit small—increase in funding. Inflation and flatlining of public-sector budgets now put HIV treatment discovery in jeopardy, and there is concern that investment will decline further with the impact of sequestration—the automatic across-the-board spending cuts to US government spending that began March 1.

Click here to download the report.

This interactive webinar with funders and advocates around the globe explores the major findings in this report and discusses the implications of possible declining investments in HIV treatment R&D.

A recording has been made available on the TAG website .

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VOICE Trial Results and Implications for Future Research

Results from the three-arm HIV prevention trial VOICE – Vaginal and Oral Interventions to Control the Epidemic – were recently presented at the 20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. The data showed that none of three interventions tested—daily oral tenofovir, daily oral TDF/FTC (Truvada), and daily 1% vaginal tenofovir gel—provided additional protection against HIV in this study, likely because few of the women in the trial used the products as directed.

This global advocates’ webinar included a presentation of the data from VOICE co-principal investigator Jeanne Marrazzo followed by a moderated discussion, which included clarifying questions around the trial itself as well as discussion of the implications these results have for ongoing and planned HIV prevention research and implementation.

Avac Event

Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections

The 20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) is a meeting of the world’s leading researchers working to understand, prevent, and treat HIV/AIDS and its complications. The goal of CROI is to provide a forum for translating laboratory and clinical research into progress against the AIDS epidemic.

FOLLOW THE DATA

  • Session Webcasts: Visit the conference website for recordings of each session.
  • Daily Research Updates: NAM/AIDSMAP will be reporting on research presented at the conference sending out summary bulletins by e-mail.

HIV PREVENTION RESEARCH & IMPLEMENTATION-RELATED SESSIONS

  • New Investigators and Trainees Workshop; B406, Sunday, 9am–1:30pm
  • Martin Delaney Lecture, The Challenge of marginalization in the fight against HIV and the resiliency of individuals and communities; B406, Sunday, 12:45-1:30pm
  • Remarks from the Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Bernard Fields Lecture, ARV Drug Discovery: HIV-1 integrase inhibitors and beyond; N’Galy-Mann Lecture, MTCT: From epidemic to elimination; Hall B1, Sunday, 5-7pm
  • HIV-1 Eradication Strategies: Design, assessment, and clinical consequences; Hall B1, Monday, 8:30-9am
  • Reality Check: Is the End of AIDS in Sight?; Hall B1, Monday, 9-9:30am
  • HIV Prevention: ARV, Counseling, Contraception, and Condoms; Ballroom 3-4, Monday, 10am-12:15pm
  • Implementation and Cost-Effectiveness of Male Circumcision; B313, Monday, 1:30-2:30pm
  • Preventing HIV/AIDS in the US: Can we do better?; Ballroom 3-4, Monday, 4-6pm
  • The Global MSM HIV Epidemic: Time to act; Hall B1, Tuesday, 8:30-9am
  • MSM in the Developing World; B308, Tuesday, 1:30-2:30pm
  • Family Planning: Unintended pregnancy and unmet need; B313, Tuesday, 1:30-2:30pm
  • Reproductive Hormones and HIV; Ballroom 3-4, Tuesday, 4-6pm
  • When Worlds Collide—Adolescents and HIV; Ballroom 1-2, Tuesday 4-6pm
  • Opportunities and Threats to ART Success; Hall B1, Tuesday 4-6pm
  • New Discoveries in Vaccines and Gene Therapy; B402, Wednesday 10-11:45am
  • Progress in Deciphering HIV Protective Immunity; B406, Wednesday, 4-6pm

ADDITIONAL EVENTS OF INTEREST

  • Sex and Gender Differences in ARV-based Prevention Research; Sunday, March 3, 9-1pm; Omni Hotel at CNN Center, International Ballrom D
  • WHO Satellite: Evidence to support potential new WHO recommendations on the use of ARVs for HIV treatment and prevention; Sunday, March 3, 1:30–3 pm; Omni Hotel at CNN Center, International ABC, 2nd Floor
  • A Community Conversation on ARV-Based HIV Prevention, Monday, March 4, 6:30–8:30 pm; The Loudermilk Center, 40 Courtland St. NE; flyer, agenda
  • Advocates’ Lunchtime Discussion; Tuesday, March 5, 12:45pm near the windows across from room B313
  • Paul Semugoma and Chris Beyrer will discuss their presentations and the challenges and opportunities of working with MSM populations around the world, especially in light of new interventions around HIV treatment and prevention. Dr Semugoma presented on Sunday on The Challenge of marginalization in the fight against HIV and the resiliency of individuals and communities, and Dr Beyrer will present the Tuesday plenary on The Global MSM HIV Epidemic: Time to act and is a discussant on the 1:30pm session on MSM in the Developing World.
  • PrEP & Women: Pregnancy, Breastfeeding & Implementation, Perinatal HIV Hotline 5th Annual CROI lunch discussion; Bldg B, level 4 seating area near Outtakes deli at conference center, Wednesday, noon-1pm – RSVP to be included in a light lunch.