Avac Event
Please join us for a deep dive into the recent ruling on the Anti-Homosexuality Act by the Ugandan Constitutional Court, with a focus on implications for HIV programs in Uganda and beyond, and connections to the US Supreme Court Dodds decision.
Speakers Include:
Avac Event
Participants joined to gain a broad understanding of Discovery Medicine including an overview of the current landscape for HIV vaccines. We also discussed what it means for HIV vaccine research and development moving forward, with a focus on community and advocacy priorities.
Speakers:
Moderators:
Avac Event
HIV self-testing (HIVST) is a safe, accurate, and effective alternative to provider-administered testing that many users prefer for its convenience and confidentiality. At IAS 2023, WHO issued a new recommendation to offer HIVST for PrEP initiation and continuation as an innovative way to increase PrEP access and coverage and further simplify PrEP delivery. However, many implementers still have questions on how to effectively roll out and scale up this important self-care intervention.
On May 23, AVAC and WHO hosted a webinar to learn more about WHO guidance on use of HIVST and to hear directly from a panel of experts on their experiencing rolling out HIVST for PrEP, guidance on procurement and costing, and more.
Avac Event
HPV vaccination prevents 6 types of cancer and genital warts, including cervical cancer. Women living with HIV are up to six times more likely to develop invasive cervical cancer than their HIV-negative peers, but HPV immunization rates among this population remain low. During World Immunization Week, AVAC and TogetHER for Health co-hosted a discussion to learn more about the science behind and implementation challenges specific to expanding access to HPV vaccination for people living with HIV.
This webinar was co-hosted with TogetHER for Health
Avac Event
A collaboration between HIVMA, PrEP4All and The Choice Agenda, this webinar assessed some of the key challenges to delivering PrEP in the United States equitably, including cost, the complexities of our health care system, and other factors that inhibit uptake amongst the most vulnerable communities. Strategies to address these challenges were offered included a Q&A, discussion and much-needed debate.
Speakers:
• Dr. Lorraine Dean, Johns Hopkins University, Department of Epidemiology
• Dr. Rupa Patel, Division of HIV Prevention, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Dr. Patrick Sullivan, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
Moderator:
Dr. Greg Millet, amfAR
Avac Event
AVAC and the SEARCH team were joined by Professor Moses Kamya of Makerere University to find out why the early results of the SEARCH Dynamic Choice study were some of the most exciting to come out of CROI in 2024.
Conducted in Kenya and Uganda, the study offered oral PrEP, PEP or injectable cabotegravir to both men and women, and an option to switch products. Prevention services were person-centered, including access to a clinician by phone at any time, clinic and community access to services, and counseling to develop personalized adherence plans. Coverage among study participants increased to 70% (compared to 13% in the standard of care), 28% of participants used two different products during the study, and the study arm ended with zero incidence of HIV compared to 1.8% in the control group. These numbers show why adding to the method mix expands the number of people who continue with prevention—even as their needs change.
The webinar consisted of a presentation by Professor Kamya, followed by a robust discussion about the role of choice in HIV prevention.
Avac Event
The timing above is ET. Please click here to determine the time in your region.
Co-sponsored by the Positive Women’s Network-USA and The Choice Agenda, this webinar featured conversations with leaders in digital technology, HIV advocacy, and abortion criminalization to examine the existential threat of our ongoing blurred boundaries between public health and policing. We dove deeply into the ways that surveillance and criminalization of public health in two specific areas – HIV and reproductive health care – exacerbate structural racism, misogyny, transmisia, ableism and other forms of discrimination. We discussed how intrusive data collection without consent violates privacy rights and can discourage people from seeking the health care that they need. We also explored shared demands to protect health data privacy, bodily autonomy and human rights.
Speakers:
• Alex McClelland, Carleton University, Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization
• Allan Maleche, Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN)
• Arneta Rogers, Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice (CRRJ) at UC Berkeley School of Law
Moderator:
Naina Khanna, Positive Women’s Network-USA
Avac Event
Science and real-world experience continue to demand a re-assessment of our collective understanding of the safety and effectiveness of PrEP options for women, including oral, vaginal ring, and injectable options. For instance, a new paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo (HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis with Emtricitabine and Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate Among Cisgender Women) challenges the notion, baked into policies, programs and “conventional wisdom”, that cisgender women need to be “super-adherers” to achieve protection utilizing oral PrEP. In this webinar, we discussed this important paper and more.
Speakers:
• Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• Joyce Ng’ang’a, WACI Health
Moderator:
Raniyah Copeland, Equity & Impact Solutions
Materials:
Recording / Ukrainian Audio / Slides / Resources / Audio Transcript (English/Ukrainian)
Avac Event
Researchers Deborah Persaud and Gabriele Cromhout join AVAC’s Jessica Salzwedel to discuss the latest from CROI on pediatric cure.
Avac Event
Tuesday, April 16, 1:00PM ET
This webinar examined the current state of the syphilis epidemic in the US and how the National Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis Syndemic Federal Task Force is addressing the response.
Speakers included: Kate Miele and LCDR Neelam Gazarian
This webinar was co-hosted with ASHA (American Sexual Health Association).
Thursday, April 18, 3:00PM ET
This webinar focused on sharing the latest scientific insights on DoxyPEP, its effectiveness in preventing STIs, and considerations around AMR.
Speakers included: Fabian Kong, Annie Luetkemeyer, and Connie Celum
Recording / Fabian Kong Slides / Connie Celum Slides
Friday, April 26, 10:00AM ET
AVAC and ASHA hosted a webinar to discuss STIs and testing with Chase Cannon, MD, MPH and Stacey Grinder, PhD, MPH.