Press Release

“24 Hours to Save AIDS Research” to Highlight HIV Research Advances and Warn Against Continued Federal Funding Cuts

Online Marathon Event Will Take Place September 16th starting at 11:00 am ET

A grassroots group of organizers is announcing “24 Hours to Save AIDS Research,” a non-partisan event taking place from Tuesday, September 16, 2025, starting at 11:00 am ET that will promote the successes of HIV research and demand continued federal investments. The interactive event will feature presentations, panels, and dialogue with scientists, researchers, and advocates from around the world.

“Over the past four decades, HIV research has changed the pandemic from a nearly always terminal diagnosis to a chronic condition that can be well managed with treatment,” said organizer Gregg Gonsalves, PhD, Yale School of Public Health.* “That extraordinary success is now being jeopardized by devastating federal funding cuts to HIV research. ‘24 Hours to Save AIDS Research’ will make clear to the public what we stand to lose if these funding cuts continue.”

“24 Hours to Save AIDS Research” is an all-day, online marathon that will include more than 70 speakers from around the world sharing their work and experiences with HIV research. Registration is now open and the interactive event will stream on YouTube. Speakers represent the broad range of HIV research areas, including prevention, cure, co-morbidities, basic science, behavioral and social science, and treatment advances. The event will feature presenters from across the globe, enabling people from all time zones to access the programming in real time.

“This marathon event has been organized to reflect the multidisciplinary nature of HIV research,” said Judith D. Auerbach, PhD, University of California San Francisco. “HIV researchers and advocates have been uniquely successful because we have tackled the complex nature of HIV from a variety of expertise, worked collaboratively across disciplines and sectors, and grounded our work in the needs of the community. ‘24 Hours to Save AIDS Research’ will highlight how effective that work has been in advancing the health and well-being of people everywhere.”

These hard-earned successes are now being threatened. Since January, the federal government has waged an unparalleled assault on science and research and has systematically dismantled federal institutions that have long been at the forefront of advancing global health. While science and health have been attacked broadly, the impact on HIV has been particularly acute, as pioneering research and implementation programs in the United States and around the world have been terminated.

“It’s impossible to overstate the foundational role of US federal funding in discovering and ultimately making available the HIV prevention and treatment options that have saved tens of millions of lives,” said organizer Mitchell Warren, AVAC. “The federal government’s unprecedented cuts to research programs and institutions are senseless and will set back the HIV response by years, it not decades. And more importantly, they could result in millions of preventable deaths around the world.”

As HIV research has transformed the pandemic, it has receded from the public’s attention. “24 Hours to Save AIDS Research” aims to help the public understand what has been achieved through decades of wise investments by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal funders and partners. Through presentations, discourse, and question and answer sessions, the event will demonstrate the extraordinary value of HIV science and what is at risk if funding cuts continue.

“This event, much like the HIV response, is grassroots and community-driven,” said organizer Jeff Wickersham, PhD, Yale School of Medicine. “Individuals who have been involved in HIV research and advocacy, some from its earliest days, recognized this as pivotal moment in the trajectory of HIV research and came together to produce an event that tells the story of HIV research. Over the course of 24 hours, we will demonstrate to the public that HIV research is a great success story and we must do everything we can to ensure it continues.”

Organizations from around the world are supporting “24 Hours to Save AIDS Research,” including research institutions, advocacy groups, and public health organizations. A full list of supporters can be found on the website.

Participants can register in advance for “24 Hours to Save AIDS Research” or join on YouTube on September 16, 2025 starting at 11:00 am ET. For more information, please visit saveaidsresearch.org and follow updates on the programming on Instagram and Bluesky.

*Note: Organizers are participating in their personal capacity only and not on behalf of their institutions.

Press Release

AVAC Condemns US Administration’s ‘Pocket Rescission’ Request to Withhold Billions in Foreign Aid 

AVAC calls on Congress to reassert its constitutional power

Contact: [email protected]

New York, NY, September 2, 2025 – AVAC condemns the US Administration’s intent to withhold billions of dollars in federal foreign assistance through the proposed ‘pocket rescission’ request sent to Congress last Friday. AVAC calls on Congress to reassert its constitutional power in appropriating federal spending and counteracting this executive overreach by the Administration. The Administration is seeking to cancel any Congressionally-appropriated funding at its discretion, with zero oversight or accountability from a co-equal branch of government. 

“This is a true constitutional crisis, advancing the Administration’s assault on Congress’ ‘power of the purse’ and putting millions of lives at risk,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC, lead plaintiff in AVAC v. State Department. “We have already seen the devastating consequences of the foreign aid freeze: interrupted treatment, shuttered clinics, prevention efforts stalled, and lives lost. Now, by attempting to usurp Congress of its constitutional role and granting the President unilateral authority to decide which appropriations to honor and which to ignore, the Administration is setting a dangerous precedent—one that, if unless prevented, will reverberate globally, jeopardize lives, and undermine the very foundations of US governance.” 

The Administration continues to attempt to use questionable budgetary maneuvers to “run out the clock” on the fiscal year and avoid disbursing nearly $4.2 billion of Congressionally-appropriated foreign assistance. These maneuvers are illegal, and represent another step in the Administration’s reckless efforts to pull back billions in unspent foreign assistance funds which were already approved by Congress.   

“This crisis has been building since January 20, when the Administration froze foreign assistance funding and forced AVAC and partners to turn to the courts,” said Warren. This past week marked one of the worst yet. On August 28, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied AVAC’s petition to rehear its case en banc and vacated the District Court’s preliminary injunction that had required the Administration to release billions in Congressionally-appropriated foreign assistance funds. That decision came only two days after the Administration filed an emergency petition to the Supreme Court of the United States seeking permission to continue withholding the funds. While last week’s ruling was a setback, the Court did significantly modify a prior opinion from August 13, paving the way for AVAC, the Global Health Council (GHC), and co-plaintiffs to return to the District Court to pursue relief. Lawyers representing AVAC and GHC have already filed motions for a renewed preliminary injunction. 

“AVAC and GHC have gone back to the District Court to seek a new injunction. And our fight doesn’t stop there,” Warren said. “We will continue to press our case in courtrooms, in Congress, and alongside communities to defend global health and the rule of law. The courts must act swiftly to send a strong message against this executive overreach, and Congress must defend democracy by reasserting its constitutional role as the arbiter of how funds are appropriated and spent.” 

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About AVAC: Founded in 1995, AVAC is an international non-profit organization that provides an independent voice and leverages global partnerships to accelerate ethical development and equitable delivery of effective HIV prevention options, as part of a comprehensive and integrated pathway to global health equity. Follow AVAC on Bluesky and Instagram. Find more at www.avac.org and www.prepwatch.org.

Press Release

AVAC Responds to Government’s Emergency Appeal to SCOTUS

In response to the US government’s August 26 emergency application to the US Supreme Court seeking to stay the preliminary injunction in the AVAC v Department of State legal case against the foreign aid freeze, AVAC’s Executive Director, Mitchell Warren wrote:

“It is no surprise that the administration has taken our case directly to the Supreme Court, especially after the District Court’s very clear and firm denial of their request yesterday to suspend the requirement to obligate Congressionally appropriated funding for foreign assistance. Time and again, this administration has shown their disdain for foreign assistance and a disregard for people’s lives in the United States and around the world. But even more broadly and dangerously, this administration’s actions further erode Congress’s role and responsibility as an equal branch of government. The question being put to SCOTUS is whether they will be complicit in further eroding the constitutional commitment to checks and balance.”

Press Release

AVAC Condemns Appeals Court Reversal of Order Directing Trump Administration to Spend Foreign Assistance Funds

Contact: [email protected]

New York, NY, August 13, 2025 — AVAC strongly condemns today’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn the District Court’s injunction that compelled the restoration of vital foreign aid funding in the lawsuit, AVAC v. United States Department of State, which challenged the Trump Administration’s funding freeze on foreign assistance, arguing that the mass termination of foreign assistance awards as unconstitutional, arbitrary and capricious, and contrary to law. 

This ruling, which allows the continuation of a Trump‑administration–imposed freeze on aid disbursements, poses profound threats to global health and HIV prevention efforts. By enabling the withholding of billions of dollars in funding, the court’s decision directly undermines the delivery of lifesaving HIV services and the ethical principles of equitable access. 

“Today’s Circuit Court ruling hands the administration another victory in their intentional effort to destroy decades of progress in global development, diplomacy, public health and human rights,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC. “Time and again, this administration has shown their disdain for foreign assistance and a disregard for people’s lives in the United States and around the world. More broadly, this decision, which we will appeal to the extent possible, further erodes Congress’s role and responsibility as an equal branch of government, and the majority opinion makes the court complicit.” 

The Circuit Court panel of three judges decided in a 2-1 vote. The dissenting judge, Florence Pan, stated clearly what is at stake: “Today, a President defies laws enacted by Congress without any legal basis, and the court holds that he has merely violated a statute, that the Constitution is not even implicated, and that there is no judicially enforceable cause of action to challenge his conduct. By failing to rein in a President who ran roughshod over clear statutory mandates, the court evades its constitutional responsibility to delineate the obligations and powers of each branch of our government… At bottom, the court’s acquiescence in and facilitation of the Executive’s unlawful behavior derails the ‘carefully crafted system of checked and balanced power’ that serves as the ‘greatest security against tyranny—the accumulation of excessive authority in a single Branch.’” 

Lauren Bateman, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group and lead counsel on this case, said “Today’s decision is a significant setback for the rule of law and risks further erosion of basic separation of powers principles. Our lawsuit will continue as we seek permanent relief from the Administration’s unlawful termination of the vast majority of foreign assistance. In the meantime, countless people will suffer disease, starvation, and death from the Administration’s unconscionable decision to withhold life-saving aid from the world’s most vulnerable people.” 

On February 10, Public Citizen filed suit on behalf of AVAC and the Journalism Development Network, Inc, seeking emergency relief from a funding freeze that was put in place by an executive order issued the day that the Trump Administration took office. 

The funding freeze ultimately led to the closure the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and decimated funding for global health, shattering relationships of trust with countries all over the world, upending decades of investment and development, and jeopardizing lives and livelihood. The case was among the first challenges to the Trump Administration’s executive orders to reach the Supreme Court. On March 5, in a 5-4 ruling, the justices rejected White House arguments that District Court judge, Amir Ali, lacked authority to direct payments to be unfrozen.  

In the following weeks, the government had been forced to bring back federal staff in order to issue nearly $2 billion in funds for contractual work completed by February 13 related to USAID programs. Judge Ali also directed the government to promptly restore grants and cooperative agreements that were terminated prior to February 13. But with the complete dismantling of USAID, for many of those programs it was too late. 

While the government has been forced by the court to issue these payments, which are ongoing, one USAID whistleblower has provided an eye-witness account and direct evidence alleging malfeasance by Trump Administration officials, including violations of the law and public trust, termination of contracts by individuals without legal authority to do so, and a so-called foreign aid grant review that was never more than a pretense, resulting in the illegal mass termination of contracts.  

AVAC commends USAID’s workforce, and leaders among them, who are taking a stand against these attacks on the US constitution, global health, foreign aid, and accountability in government. As Public Citizen’s Lauren Bateman said, “The Trump Administration has consistently—preposterously—claimed that its decision to terminate thousands of U.S. foreign assistance awards was legal because those terminations were based on an ‘individualized’ review. This internal agency document corroborates that there was no such individualized review. It also shows that the Administration has ignored both court orders and numerous communications from officials within USAID.” 

The global health ecosystem cannot afford further disruption. Data from a recent Lancet study estimate that the discontinuation of PEPFAR alone—one of the programs most directly impacted—could result in up to 10.75 million new HIV infections and 2.93 million HIV-related deaths by 2030. 

“This court decision exacerbates an already grave humanitarian crisis. AVAC stands unwavering in our commitment to ethical, evidence-based global health programs to develop and deliver HIV prevention, vaccine and contraceptive innovations,” said Warren. “We urge policymakers and the courts to act urgently to reverse this dangerous precedent. The health and lives of millions – not to mention the underpinnings of our democracy – hang in the balance.” 

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About AVAC: Founded in 1995, AVAC is an international non-profit organization that provides an independent voice and leverages global partnerships to accelerate ethical development and equitable delivery of effective HIV prevention options, as part of a comprehensive and integrated pathway to global health equity. Follow AVAC on Bluesky and Instagram. Find more at www.avac.org and www.prepwatch.org.

Press Release

AVAC Condemns Administration’s Further Actions to Dismantle and Deconstruct U.S. Government Vaccine Research and Delivery Infrastructure

Contact: [email protected]

New York, NY, August 6, 2025 — AVAC condemns a series of actions taken by the U.S. presidential administration to dismantle U.S. leadership in research, development and delivery of lifesaving vaccines. The latest move announced yesterday to defund grants issued by the Biomedical Advanced Research Development Authority (BARDA) for research and development of the mRNA vaccine platform is part of a broader pattern to systematically decimate investments in vaccine development programs and delivery systems and continue to sow ideologically driven vaccine misinformation. Without U.S. government leadership, the country and the world will remain woefully unprepared for ongoing and emerging pandemic threats.

“We are disappointed and alarmed to see the government continue an onslaught against vaccine science and confidence,” said Mitchell Warren, Executive Director of AVAC. “Actions to take apart the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), to cancel grants to the Consortia for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development (CHAVDs), to cease contributions to Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, and now to cancel BARDA support for mRNA vaccines are a red alert all around the world, signaling the U.S. retreat from advancing vaccine development and delivery.

This week’s action to unilaterally cancel $500M in BARDA grants for mRNA vaccine R&D come after the U.S. government—through Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—implemented several moves to weaken vaccine science and programming within the U.S. government:

  • May 30: NIH notified the leaders of the Consortia for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development (CHAVDs) that their funding would not be renewed, putting in doubt the realization of HIV vaccine portfolio and decades of historical investment.
  • June 8: HHS Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr removed COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant women and then dismissed 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) and installed noted vaccine skeptics in their place.
  • June 25: In a video statement, RFK Jr. stuns the Gavi replenishment conference by withdrawing U.S. support for the multilateral agency, critically undermining its ability to deliver vaccines to vulnerable populations and communities around the world.
  • July 28: Following the decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court in Braidwood vs. Becerra, which affirmed the mandated insurance coverage of preventative services based on recommendations made by the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) as well as the ability of the HHS Secretary to remove and shape HHS committees at will, RFK Jr. cancelled the next meeting of the Task Force and signaled his intention to disband its membership.

Cancellation of research grants at the CHAVD and BARDA continue a dangerous pattern of impoundment tactics by the administration to bypass Congressional authority to appropriate funding. Even with the potential restoration of funding, damage to the vaccine research infrastructure has already been done.

“We cannot just ‘turn the tap’ of funding back on,” warned Stacey Hannah, AVAC’s Director of Research Engagement. “When the administration stops research funding abruptly, it rewinds scientific progress. It will take time and even more resources to get these studies back online—squandering the potential of future breakthroughs that are based on established, gold-standard science.”

Additionally, by destabilizing evidence-based policymaking and scientifically rigorous recommendations made possible through ACIP and USPSTF, the administration intensifies public doubt and mistrust in vaccines as important public health tools. Vaccine misinformation undermines delivery of the annual flu shot, COVID-19 boosters, and vaccines against measles, hep B, HPV, and mpox, amongst other vaccine preventable diseases.

“These actions dangerously sow vaccine disinformation and mistrust, which has proliferated since the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Alison Footman, Senior Program Manager for STIs at AVAC. “Dangerous ideology results in dangerous policymaking, putting many lives at stake and complicating efforts to both discover and implement clinical and cost-effective interventions to make America and the world healthier, safer, and more prosperous.”

AVAC calls upon Congress to re-assert its power of the purse and its long-standing, bipartisan support for vaccine R&D and vaccination programs, to counteract efforts by the current administration, and to sustain the vaccine enterprise before it is too late.

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About AVAC: Founded in 1995, AVAC is an international non-profit organization that provides an independent voice and leverages global partnerships to accelerate ethical development and equitable delivery of effective HIV prevention options, as part of a comprehensive and integrated pathway to global health equity. Follow AVAC on Bluesky and Instagram. Find more at www.avac.org and www.prepwatch.org.

Press Release

Important Win for Public Health: Supreme Court Upholds ACA Preventive-Care Protections 

Contact: [email protected]

New York, NY, June 27, 2025 — AVAC welcomes today’s ruling affirming the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s preventive services mandate, including coverage for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) at no cost to patients. This decision represents a critical victory for public health, health equity, and the millions of people who rely on preventive services to stay healthy and safe. By rejecting efforts to strip away access to PrEP and other essential services based on ideological objections, the court has reaffirmed that public policy must be grounded in science, not stigma. 

Since the original Braidwood decision, AVAC and our partners have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the case’s far-reaching implications. We joined legal advocates, public health experts, and community leaders to underscore what was at stake: access to evidence-based care and decades of progress in preventing HIV and other serious conditions. Today’s ruling confirms the power of coordinated advocacy and the importance of protecting science-driven health policy from politically motivated attacks. 

This outcome ensures that individuals can continue to access PrEP, both the medication and the clinical services necessary to support its use, without cost barriers. It preserves critical public health gains and sends a strong message that discrimination has no place in our health care system. 

“This ruling is a relief in maintaining the critical role under the Affordable Care Act to cover preventive care services, including HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP),” said Mitchell Warren, AVAC’s Executive Director. “Preventive services across healthcare are cost-saving and life-saving, and I am grateful that the Supreme Court found on the side of evidence, logic, public health, and human rights. There has been enormous progress in the fight to end the HIV epidemic, and just last week the FDA approved the newest form of PrEP, injectable lenacapavir. Lenacapavir can be a transformative option, but only if it is available to people who want and need it, and today’s ruling can make that possible.” 

Looking ahead, AVAC will continue working to ensure that PrEP access is not only protected but meaningfully expanded, particularly for the communities that have long faced systemic barriers to care. This includes advocating for a national PrEP program, strengthening provider and patient education, supporting implementation by community-led organizations, and holding insurers accountable for compliance. Today’s ruling offers a strong foundation to build from, and we remain committed to a future where HIV prevention is accessible, equitable, and fully resourced for all. 

Today’s Supreme Court decision does confirm enormous power with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, which under the current administration is cause for significant concern. “In the midst of today’s victory, we must be tempered by what has happened with the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), as it could be a harbinger of what a Secretary of HHS can do to twist committees and task forces that should be composed of technical experts guided by science to ones that are guided by ideology, illogic and political whim,” said Warren.

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About AVAC: Founded in 1995, AVAC is an international non-profit organization that provides an independent voice and leverages global partnerships to accelerate ethical development and equitable delivery of effective HIV prevention options, as part of a comprehensive and integrated pathway to global health equity. Follow AVAC on Bluesky and Instagram. Find more at www.avac.org and www.prepwatch.org. 

Press Release

FDA Approves Injectable Lenacapavir for PrEP

A Historic Milestone Must Now Be Matched by Urgent Action

Contact: [email protected]

New York, NY, June 18, 2025 — AVAC welcomes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of injectable lenacapavir (LEN) for the prevention of HIV as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). LEN, developed by Gilead Sciences, is a twice-yearly injectable PrEP option that showed nearly complete protection against HIV in the landmark PURPOSE 1 and 2 trials. Science Magazine named LEN the “Breakthrough of the Year” in 2024, a recognition that reflects its enormous potential. But that promise will only be realized if it is rolled out with speed, scale, and equity.

“The approval of LEN is a much-needed boost for HIV prevention, given the strength of the science and the simultaneous disruption in HIV programs globally,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC. “But US FDA approval is just one in a series of steps needed to ensure that injectable LEN can help reduce the 1.3 million new HIV infections that occur each year. Scientific progress only matters if innovation actually reaches people. LEN for PrEP is poised to re-shape the HIV response, but only if today’s approval is accompanied by bold, strategic, effective and equitable rollout that reaches the populations that need access. Otherwise, the world risks squandering this PrEP opportunity, as it has with other PrEP options too often over the past 12 years.”

In December, PEPFAR and the Global Fund announced a coordinated ambition to reach two million people within three years of product launch. This commitment signals an unprecedented opportunity to make PrEP access a reality. But translating this ambition into impact, especially now amid the current political environment, is not without considerable challenges.

“Political will, programmatic implementation, and sustainable funding are needed to truly accelerate equitable and impactful introduction of LEN worldwide,” said Wawira Nyagah, AVAC’s director of product introduction & access. “We have over a decade of hard-won lessons on what it takes to rollout PrEP effectively, and the field cannot afford the delays we have seen with the past launches of daily oral PrEP, the monthly dapivirine vaginal ring (DVR), and every-two-month injectable cabotegravir (CAB). Lives depend on speed, scale and equity.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) is expected to release updated PrEP guidelines for LEN in July, and regulatory agencies in Brazil, Europe and South Africa are simultaneously reviewing the product. But the current political context, including a shuttered USAID and further disruptions across global health, demands an urgent and courageous response. In January, the US Administration issued a stop-work on all USAID-funded grants, nearly paralyzing HIV treatment and prevention by PEPFAR, the primary funder of programs in HIV-burdened countries (and administered by USAID). In February, PrEP was broadly excluded from a waiver that allowed HIV treatment to continue and allowed PrEP only for pregnant and breastfeeding women. These policies could not only undercut LEN’s promise but roll back years of progress in HIV prevention.

It will take new, re-vitalized and committed partnerships to work together to sustain past progress and advance HIV prevention to deliver on the UN targets for epidemic control. AVAC’s The Gears of Lenacapavir for PrEP Rollout outlines the steps needed from national governments, funders, researchers, drug-makers including generic manufacturers, and civil society to ensure LEN reaches those who need it most. In the near term, these stakeholders each have vital work to do to complement the initial announcement from the Global Fund and The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) in their pledged collaboration to significantly expand access to LEN for PrEP.

“No one donor, national government or manufacturer can realize this ambition alone,” said Warren. “All stakeholders—including Gilead, PEPFAR, and the Gates Foundation—must act decisively to seize this opportunity, ensuring that all populations—regardless of geography, income, or identity—benefit from this innovative prevention option.”

Meeting this moment requires funders, Ministries of Health, implementers and civil society partners to collaboratively design a comprehensive introduction strategy that breaks the sequential nature of traditional approaches to scaling up interventions. Instead, to speed up introduction, stakeholders must move toward a parallel approach where research, implementation science, and programs at scale are designed, funded and implemented simultaneously. This introduction strategy should entail:  

  • Other funders and national governments to join the Global Fund and CIFF and commit to procure at least enough LEN from Gilead for two million person years of protection beginning this year through 2027. 
  • Gilead to set a cost-effective price that compares to generic daily oral TDF/FTC. Achieving this will require a low launch price from Gilead, significant volume procurement from donors, and the entry of multiple generic manufacturers into a competitive, multi-million-user market. While this low price is not expected at launch, stakeholders must act now to reach this price point as quickly as possible by building volume with supplies from Gilead at no more than $100 per person per year and to support multiple generic manufacturers to enable production at larger scale and lower prices as quickly as possible.
  • A mobilized civil society in high-burden countries pushing national governments to expedite regulatory approvals, integrate LEN into HIV and national health programs with domestic resources, and develop national guidelines without delay.
  • Civil society also demanding transparent pricing and a clear, accelerated pathway to sustainable PrEP programs—so that by the time generic LEN becomes available around 2028, the market is primed for rapid scale-up, with multiple producers driving down prices through competition.
  • Gilead working with their generic license holders to accelerate production and expand generic availability in middle-income countries.
  • The US Administration, via the State Department, releasing all appropriated funds, negotiate best prices at scale and provide LEN to all who need it. These actions are essential to achieve a strategic transition and sustainability against the global HIV epidemic.

“This is the moment to build on the momentum of science, which has brought the field to this day, when LEN for PrEP is speeding through regulatory review faster than any prevention product to date,” said Nyagah. “Translating this success into real impact on the epidemic, led by communities around the world, must be a top priority among all stakeholders.” 

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About AVAC: Founded in 1995, AVAC is an international non-profit organization that provides an independent voice and leverages global partnerships to accelerate ethical development and equitable delivery of effective HIV prevention options, as part of a comprehensive and integrated pathway to global health equity. Follow AVAC on Bluesky and Instagram. Find more at www.avac.org and www.prepwatch.org. 

Press Release

AVAC Condemns Removal of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices

Contact: [email protected]

NEW YORK, NY, June 11, 2025—AVAC strongly condemns Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for removing all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). This committee of vaccine experts—with decades of experience in vaccine development, delivery and safety—is responsible for developing the country’s vaccine policies and recommendations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At a time when science is under political attack and vital programs are being defunded, AVAC stands with researchers, advocates, and communities calling for Congress to defend public health and unbiased science, which is essential to safeguarding the health of all Americans. The Secretary’s actions attack the integrity of ACIP membership and is a direct threat to public trust in our health systems and in the essential role of vaccines in disease prevention.

“Vaccines remain among the most powerful public health tools ever developed,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC. “Vaccines have transformed the global response to infectious diseases, from smallpox to measles to COVID-19, and they are central to the vision of ending the HIV epidemic. At a moment when the US should be investing more in vaccine science, access, and public confidence, it is investing less and simultaneously undermining vaccines generally. Secretary Kennedy’s short-sighted and unceremonious removal of all ACIP members is an alarming escalation in this administration’s campaign to dismantle evidence-based health policy, science and research.”

ACIP’s long-standing commitment to base vaccine recommendations purely on the evidence represents the highest standards of ethical guidance to protect human health. The Secretary’s decision undermines not just US vaccine strategy, but global confidence in immunization programs and guidance that have long relied on US leadership.

The destruction of ACIP adds to the five-month litany of assaults on vaccines and the systems that support them.  From proposed cuts to the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, to the defunding for global vaccine access programs like Gavi and domestic immunization initiatives at the US CDC, to the undermining of the essential role of measles vaccines, the closure of the leading NIH-funded HIV vaccine consortia (CHAVD), to the dismantling of USAID’s HIV vaccine R&D programs and the recommendation to remove COVID-19 vaccines from the US immunization schedule for children and pregnant women, this administration has worked to subvert the importance and impact of life-saving vaccines and erode public trust for vaccine science.   

Vaccines work. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for 99% of cervical cancers. The HPV vaccine prevents over 90% of cancers caused by HPV, including anal, cervical, penile, throat, vaginal, and vulvar globally, and if more widely available, could prevent hundreds of thousands of annual deaths, according to the WHO. Similarly, hepatitis B (HBV) accounts for 1.1 million deaths globally, and yet the HBV vaccine prevents as many deaths every year, according to WHO. Furthermore, without a vaccine review panel, rollout of anticipated vaccines that protect against gonorrhea, could make access difficult for many Americans when drug resistant gonorrhea is on the rise globally.

“We are witnessing other countries eliminate cervical cancer through robust HPV vaccination and screening programs while the US risks reversing decades of progress,” says Alison Footman, AVAC’s senior program manager of STIs. “The ACIP plays a critical role in ensuring vaccines, including those that prevent STIs like HPV and hepatitis B, are accessible, and recommendations are guided by expert opinions. Now more than ever, we must protect the integrity of public health systems that save lives and prevent diseases.”

As public confidence in vaccines erodes, the value of vaccine science is paramount, representing one of the single greatest advances in the history of medical science, eradicating once life-threatening infections and mitigating the risk of illness from numerous diseases. In the field of HIV, the search for an effective vaccine is advancing thanks to decades of investment in basic science, clinical research, and global partnerships. This progress must be protected and accelerated. A vaccine would provide a durable, scalable form of HIV prevention that does not rely on frequent adherence or health system access, and it would be especially transformative for communities most marginalized by current systems.

AVAC calls on Congress, scientists, and civil society to speak out and stand up for science, for vaccines, and for the future of global and public health.

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About AVAC

AVAC is an international non-profit organization that provides an independent voice and leverages global partnerships to accelerate ethical development and equitable delivery of effective HIV prevention options, as part of a comprehensive and integrated pathway to global health equity. Follow AVAC on Bluesky and Instagram. Find more at www.avac.org and www.prepwatch.org.

Press Release

AVAC Denounces White House Effort to Codify DOGE Cuts to Health, Research and Foreign Assistance

Contact: [email protected]

NEW YORK, NY, June 5, 2025 — AVAC denounces recent proposals and actions by the US administration that signal a clear intention to defund and eliminate lifesaving global health research, development and delivery programs. If passed by Congress, proposed funding rescissions for the current year’s budget would claw back billions of Congressionally appropriated dollars for critical, life-saving programs. In addition, the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget proposal would further cut funding and entrench a wide range of anti-science and anti-public health policies, many of which undermine the rights of communities vulnerable to HIV. AVAC urgently calls on Congress to step-up in bi-partisan support that aligns the US federal budget with evidence and delivers impact.

“These actions are doing irreparable harm to health research and programs that form the backbone of global efforts to end HIV,” said Mitchell Warren, AVAC’s executive director. “This is not just a budget proposal; this is a shortsighted and reckless policy roadmap that provides further proof that this administration has no regard for science, research, or public health. Every day of unchecked executive overreach unravels decades of progress. Congress must fulfill its duties and intervene to protect policies and programs that have made Americans and the world safer, healthier and more prosperous.”

Released in May as a “skinny” version, the President’s full FY26 budget proposal would dismantle the architecture for global health, including programs and research with historically broad bipartisan Congressional and public support. The FY26 budget proposes slashing PEPFAR by 34% and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) funding by 36%, for a combined total of over $5.5 billion in cuts – potentially crippling HIV programs and research. The FY26 budget further targets the Global Division of HIV and Tuberculosis (DGHT) at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by eliminating it along with other global health programming at the agency. PEPFAR is severely weakened without the partnership of CDC’s global health division and USAID, which bring vast expertise and technical assistance in the implementation of programs at the country-level.

Additionally, the proposed rescissions package would eliminate over $900 million from FY25 global health programs. The rescissions package would cancel not-yet-spent funds, and the administration has not excluded PEPFAR from these further reductions. If passed by Congress, it would codify, or make legal, the unlawful dismantling of USAID, which was initiated through presidential executive overreach and reckless actions by DOGE across federal agencies. Just as important, harmful, ideological rhetoric across FY26 budget documents and the rescissions package attempt to justify targeted cuts to services for the LGBTQI+ community, family planning and reproductive health. Such policies are antithetical to a rights-based public health approach to meeting critical needs among communities who are the most marginalized and vulnerable to HIV and other diseases.

These actions by the administration also come on the heels of last week’s announcement of the elimination of NIH funding for the Consortia on HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development (CHAVD). Founded in 2005, the CHAVD programs – based at Duke University and Scripps Research Institute – have been instrumental to advancing HIV vaccine research and development, contributing to progress toward an HIV vaccine and other scientific innovations.

“A shuttered CHAVD imperils the ongoing quest for an HIV vaccine and sidelines scientific discovery at large, leaving some of the most accomplished scientists in the world without the federal resources needed to continue vital research,” said Stacey Hannah, director of Research Engagement at AVAC. “Americans need to be reminded that vaccines are one of, if not the most cost-effective, impactful health interventions. The CHAVD cuts represent an attack on fundamental science that protects the well-being of all and boosts prosperity in our country and the world.”

These actions are part of a broader anti-science agenda from this administration, which has already taken steps to severely constrain the work of the HIV Prevention Trials Network, the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Intervention, and the Advancing Clinical Therapeutics Globally for HIV/AIDS and Other Infections (ACTG).

“In a cruel irony, these combined cuts come just as the field reaches a moment of historic promise in HIV prevention,” said John Meade, senior program manager for Policy Advocacy at AVAC. “Later this month, the US FDA is expected to approve lenacapavir (LEN) as a twice-yearly injectable form of PrEP. This product represents the culmination of decades of investment in all stages of scientific innovation, including basic science and global research infrastructure, especially in South Africa. Without NIH investments over the past two decades, the world would not be on the cusp of approval and introduction of LEN for PrEP.”

AVAC calls on Congress to exercise its power of the purse under the Constitution by rejecting the President’s proposed cuts to global health, research, development and science. Congress must maintain this critical funding, which makes the world safer, healthier, and more prosperous. Congress should also immediately reject the rescissions package in its vote expected next week and do all it can to restore funding for HIV research and programming across the federal government.

The field must urgently make the case for sustained investment. Everyone concerned about the devastating effects of ongoing and threatened cuts should reach out to their Senators and Congresspeople immediately. Call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, or reach out to your Senators online and Representatives directly.

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About AVAC

AVAC is an international non-profit organization that provides an independent voice and leverages global partnerships to accelerate ethical development and equitable delivery of effective HIV prevention options, as part of a comprehensive and integrated pathway to global health equity. Follow AVAC on Bluesky and Instagram. Find more at www.avac.org and www.prepwatch.org.

Press Release

AVAC Condemns HHS Mass Layoffs

‘Brain Drain’ Will Make US Sicker and Poorer

Contact: [email protected]

New York, NY, April 2, 2025 — AVAC condemns the US administration’s ongoing reduction in force (RIF) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees 13 agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In a strategically blind and callous move, the administration has begun to dismiss 20,000 public servants and leaders across every domain of global health research, policies and programs—without any clear plan to sustain life-saving work across these agencies.

Among the thousands of colleagues removed from their positions are two stalwart leaders in HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STI) and sexual and reproductive health: the CDC’s Jonathan Mermin and NIAID’s Jeanne Marrazzo. These two professionals epitomize the best in scientific leadership—unyielding commitment to evidence, rights, community engagement, and to translating science into policy, programs and practice.

“What we’re witnessing is a true ‘brain drain’ at the highest levels of government. Losing Drs. Marrazzo and Mermin is a loss for everyone dedicated to advancing human health in the US and around the world,” said Mitchell Warren, Executive Director at AVAC. “By removing these leaders and defunding the work that has led to breakthroughs in HIV prevention and treatment, this administration is setting the US back decades. These personnel changes aren’t just numbers on an organizational chart, but the removal of dedicated public health leaders who have helped build what so many of us rely on. These illegal actions will make America and the world poorer and sicker.”

As the world’s largest funder of biomedical research, decades of NIH investments have driven the discovery and development of therapies and preventive interventions for HIV, tuberculosis, STIs, viral Hepatitis and other infectious diseases. The Adolescent Trials Network (ATN)—created in 2001—revolutionized research by generating data to develop and deliver life-saving HIV and STI interventions for adolescents, an often-excluded group in research. However, recent cuts have gutted the ATN, undermining decades of investment by NIH and American taxpayers to advance healthcare for adolescents. Just as important, the role of the CDC is absolutely essential, by preventing, detecting and responding to emerging health threats. Together, NIH and CDC drive research, policy and programs that lead to groundbreaking discoveries and safeguard human health. These ill-informed decisions risk not only the economic stability of our scientific workforce but also a resurgence of diseases like HIV and TB, reversing years of scientific advancement.

“The advancements of science have given the world lifesaving options in HIV and many other diseases,” said Stacey Hannah, Director of Research Engagement at AVAC. “The wholesale dismantling of research infrastructure is a reckoning for the field. We cannot—and will not—stand by as science, which has delivered products, programs, and services that combat diseases and empower communities, is systematically dismantled. Once, bipartisan support fueled excellence in public service and research; science has only grown stronger since then, and now we need leadership that matches its promise.” 

“It’s devastating that this is happening now—when in four decades of battling the HIV epidemic we’ve never had the opportunity that we have now with long-acting injectable PrEP to put the world on track to end the AIDS epidemic,” Warren added. “Years of investment, collaboration, and community engagement, with leadership from CDC and NIH, had begun to break down longstanding barriers. Now, this momentum has been abruptly halted. Without urgent, coordinated action, the hard-won gains in HIV prevention will be reversed, leaving communities more vulnerable and deepening inequities.” 

AVAC urges Congress to take action in stopping the wanton destruction and assault on science being waged by the administration. Without federally funded public health research, the US risks losing its place as a global leader in biomedical research and becoming more vulnerable to the next infectious disease threats.

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About AVAC

AVAC is an international non-profit organization that provides an independent voice and leverages global partnerships to accelerate ethical development and equitable delivery of effective HIV prevention options, as part of a comprehensive and integrated pathway to global health equity. Follow AVAC on Bluesky and Instagram. Find more at www.avac.org and www.prepwatch.org.