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.

Press Release

Court Decision Reinforces Constitutional Principles, But Does Not Relieve Humanitarian Crisis

Contact: [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 10, 2025 — Tonight, a federal district court in Washington, DC, granted in part and denied in part a motion for a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) and Journalism Development Network (JDN). The motion asked the court to allow humanitarian work to continue while the lawsuit challenging the administration’s foreign-assistance freeze moves forward. The two groups are represented in the case by Public Citizen Litigation Group.

The court ordered that the administration spend money appropriated by Congress for foreign assistance but declined to order restoration of foreign assistance grants that had been terminated en masse.

Lauren Bateman, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group and lead counsel on this case, issued the following statement in response:

“Today’s decision affirms a basic principle of our Constitution: the president is not a king.

“But we are painfully aware that, without unwinding the mass termination of foreign assistance awards, winning on the constitutional issues does not avert the humanitarian disaster caused by the Trump Administration’s freeze on foreign assistance. And it does not undo the damage that the freeze has already inflicted on millions of vulnerable people across the world. Deaths will continue to mount.

“While the courts have an important role to play in standing up for the rule of law, Americans need more than just the courts. We need Congress, which has always supported foreign aid on a bipartisan basis, to assert itself.”

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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

Monday Payment Deadline Is a Step Towards Relief in Foreign Assistance Case

Contact: [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 6, 2025 — On behalf of plaintiffs AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and Journalism Development Network, Public Citizen attorneys appeared in court today to argue for a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration, to enable humanitarian work to continue while a lawsuit challenging the administration’s attempted termination of foreign assistance moves forward.

Allison Zieve, director of Public Citizen Litigation Group, issued the following statement in response to the district court’s deadline:

“During a 4-hour hearing, the government continued to insist that shutting down humanitarian assistance was both reasonable and lawful. It also continued to take the position that the court has no authority to grant relief.

“In response, though, the court set a deadline of Monday evening for payments to our clients that are overdue. He also indicated that he will set a timeline for payment of others’ overdue invoices. And we are hopeful that the judge will provide additional relief when he rules on the full scope of our preliminary injunction motion on Monday.”

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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

Trump Cannot Ignore The Law, SCOTUS Rules

Contact: [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 5, 2025 — Today, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s efforts to evade compliance with a federal court’s order to lift the freeze on foreign assistance.

Plaintiffs in the case are represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group. A hearing in the district court on Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for tomorrow at 2pm ET.

Lauren Bateman, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group and lead counsel in this case, stated:
“Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court confirms that the Administration cannot ignore the law. To stop needless suffering and death, the government must now comply with the order issued three weeks ago to lift its unlawful termination of federal assistance.”

Mitchell Warren, executive director of AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC), added:
“We welcome the Supreme Court’s decision to deny the government’s application to vacate the District Court’s order. This ruling is particularly appropriate in light of the critical importance of honoring commitments to global health initiatives, including lifesaving HIV/AIDS programs. Lives are at stake, and delays in funding directly impact those in need. AVAC remains dedicated to advocating for sustained and uninterrupted support for HIV/AIDS research and prevention.”

Journalism Development Network (JDN)’s Drew Sullivan, also commented:
“The Supreme Court has halted the government’s bid to continue its unlawful withholding of funds and termination of work. Independent media organizations around the world are suffering from the government’s illegal suspension of critical foreign assistance projects and termination of grants. This order will give them some respite.”

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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

As Supreme Court Weighs Halt to Foreign Assistance Funding, Lives Hang in the Balance

Contact: [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 28, 2025 — The Trump administration’s last-minute plea asking the Supreme Court to override a temporary restraining order requiring the administration to keep its commitment to recipients of foreign assistance funding should be rejected, according to a brief filed today by Public Citizen Litigation Group on behalf of AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and Journalism Development Network.

As detailed in the brief, the Trump administration has flouted the district court’s order for two weeks. Meanwhile, the freeze on payments to non-profits that engage in global humanitarian work is causing extraordinary and irreversible harm to the non-profits, their employees, and the people in need around the world who depend on their work.

“The district court gave the government every opportunity to demonstrate what steps it was taking to release foreign-assistance funding, as the TRO required, and to explain any practical impediments it faced in pursuing compliance,” the groups wrote in their filing.  “But even by the time of the district court’s February 25 hearing—nearly two weeks after the TRO had issued—government counsel could not identify a single action the government had taken in the twelve days since the TRO to release frozen funds.”

The filing comes in response to the government’s Wednesday night application to the Supreme Court seeking expedited relief, which asked the justices to vacate a lower court decision requiring compliance with three previous orders directing the government to unfreeze foreign assistance programs that provide life-saving aid while the case proceeds.

“As the administration openly flouts multiple court orders, the people around the world who depend on U.S. foreign assistance programs face mass starvation, disease, and death,” said Lauren Bateman, attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group. “It is both a moral and legal crisis.”

In late January, President Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to freeze nearly all foreign assistance programs. Shortly thereafter, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered a halt on payments to those programs and directed grantees to stop their work.

On February 13, two days after Public Citizen filed suit, the federal district court judge ordered the Trump administration to resume payments to its development program partners and allow work to continue, at least while the case proceeded in court. Since then, in the face of the administration’s recalcitrance, the judge has reiterated his order three times. Although on Wednesday night the Court stayed a portion of the order requiring payments for past work to be paid by that night, the district court order remains in effect—and the administration continues to defy it.

“Congress created foreign assistance programs, directed the State Department and USAID to implement them, and appropriated funding to do so,” said Allison Zieve, director of Public Citizen Litigation Group. “The administration’s conduct flouts—not only the district court’s orders—but Congress’s constitutional role under the separation of powers at the heart of our Constitution.”

“We hope the Supreme Court will act quickly to reject the government’s effort to avoid complying with the law,” said Nicolas Sansone, attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group. “Every additional day that the government continues to defy the district court’s order compounds the pointless suffering caused by the administration’s arbitrary and unlawful foreign-assistance freeze.”

“This administration’s actions reflect an ignorance of the role of foreign assistance and a disregard of people’s lives in the United States and around the world,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition. “The blanket freezes and now terminations of life-saving projects do not reflect an honest attempt to evaluate for efficiency, but rather an intentional effort to destroy decades of progress. But this is not just about PEPFAR. This is not just about the HIV response. This is about the rule of law.”

“Journalists in some of the toughest places for media are losing their jobs, their security, and possibly their visas because of the unlawful freeze,” said Drew Sullivan, publisher of Journalism Development Network. “The courts need to understand the damage that has been done and correct it.”

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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

Motion for Civil Contempt Filed in Foreign Aid Freeze Lawsuit

Government acting in brazen defiance of court order

Contact: [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 19, 2025 — Today, on behalf of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) and Journalism Development Network, Inc. (JDN), Public Citizen Litigation Group filed a motion for civil contempt in its lawsuit seeking emergency relief from the freeze on foreign assistance funding and orders to stop work.

Last week, a federal court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) in the case, prohibiting the blanket suspension of foreign-assistance funding and enjoining enforcement of stop-work orders, as well as orders suspending or terminating foreign assistance grants.

Last night, the administration revealed in a status report that it has not restarted any funding or allowed the resumption of work. Rather, it claimed that it reviewed thousands of affected State Department and USAID grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements, and concluded that nearly every one should be suspended or terminated.

Lauren Bateman, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group and lead counsel on this case, commented on the recent developments:

“The defendants’ response to last week’s temporary restraining order amounts to direct defiance of the Court and the rule of law.

“The administration’s brazen noncompliance cannot be condoned. In today’s filing, we ask the court to order the defendants to immediately comply with the terms of the TRO by rescinding all suspensions, stop-work orders, and terminations issued since January 19, 2025. We also ask the court to issue an order holding the enjoined defendants in civil contempt and imposing monetary penalties until they comply.”

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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.