New from AVAC: LEN resources, DPP in focus, STI prevention, fighting for KP rights & health

Dear Advocate, 

This round up offers on-the-ground tools for stakeholders involved in rolling out injectable lenacapavir for PrEP; updated articles on AVAC’s court case on foreign assistance; resources on the state of defending rights to health and inclusion for key populations; an up-close look at AVAC’s Advocacy Navigator program and the accomplishments of this year’s cohort; updates on the Dual Prevention Pill featured at The International Conference on Family Planning; and several new advocacy resources for cure research and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).  

This collection of tools is for stakeholders working to accelerate access to injectable LEN for PrEP. Continually updated, these tools support critical steps in rolling out LEN, including interactive tools for planning, monitoring and evaluation; toolkits for provider training; templates for technical working groups to establish terms of reference; and adaptable standard operating procedures for country planning to align with WHO guidelines among others. Additional tools will be added as they are available. For more on LEN, visit avac.org/lenacapavir.

AVAC is a lead plaintiff in one of many cases attempting to hold the US Presidential Administration accountable to the US Constitution, Congress, global commitments and the American people. The Washington Post and the New York Times published stories this week on the implications of pending US Supreme Court decisions. As AVAC Executive Director Mitchell Warren told the Washington Post, the high court’s ruling “potentially implies that the Administration can disregard Congressional power of the purse.” 

This webinar included an unflinching assessment of the impacts of the ongoing assault on transgender health and rights and strategies to sustain programming.

At the same time, the 4th Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2025) reaffirmed Africa’s shift from aid dependency toward health sovereignty, self-reliance, and regional solidarity. The conference culminated in The Durban Promise, a commitment to mobilize Africa’s wealth and innovation for health sovereignty. When it comes to HIV services, COMPASS advocates at the conference, including AVAC's Richard Muko, made clear that strengthening healthcare systems requires a commitment to person-sensitive care and the leadership of key population (KPs) communities to achieve impact. Learn more about KP priorities for HIV prevention here.

AVAC’s The Advocacy Navigator program mobilizes ambitious, emerging advocates and provides them with resources to build knowledge, skills and confidence to advance HIV prevention in their communities and countries. Navigators are paired with mentors, alumni of AVAC’s Advocacy Fellows Program, to provide support and guidance to ensure the next generation of HIV advocates are fierce and effective in demanding speed, scale, and equity in the HIV response.

Check out Navigating Change: Young Advocates Lead the Future of HIV Prevention, by AVAC’s Bridget Jjuuko & Jeanne Baron, for an up-close look at how and why the model works and critical accomplishments by this year’s cohort, representing 10 countries across Africa. Their achievements include changing national and regional policies; expanding access to PrEP; connecting youth to HIV services; and establishing youth leadership in the HIV response. 

The International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) 2025, happening in Bogota this week, shines a spotlight on the Dual Prevention Pill (DPP). Still in development, the DPP would prevent both pregnancy and HIV. If approved, the DPP will require integration of contraception and PrEP in guidelines, health systems, delivery approaches, and demand creation. AVAC’s ICFP panel discussion, The Dual Prevention Pill Introduction Plan: Both a Question and an Answer to Integration, covers how programs should think about rolling out novel prevention products like the DPP in the current landscape, learning from projects across sub-Saharan Africa.

Also at ICFP, The Self-Care Trailblazers group is launching a report, 2025 State of Self-Care Report: Self-Care in a Changing World, featuring a DPP case study, authored by AVAC’s Natasha Mwila, Community-Centered Perspectives on the Dual Prevention Pill as a Self-Care Product, covering how community engagement with women and adolescent girls informed design, decision-making in support of the DPP as a self-care product with the potential to advance rights, equity, and choice.

Advocacy and HIV Cure Research Agenda: Highlights from the Advocacy-for-an-HIV-Cure Academy by AVAC’s Jessica Salzwedel showcases the recent AVAC/IAS Academy, the eighth Academy in eight years—and why advocacy for cure research matters and how advocates are preparing their communities for this fast-moving and important area in HIV prevention and treatment.  

For a deep dive on these issues, check out the HIV Cure podcast episode, Community Involvement in HIV Cure and Vaccine Research, featuring Jessica and hosted by Sekgabo Seselamarumo, a member of AVAC’s Clinical Trial Design Academy and alumna of the AVAC and IAS Advocacy-for-Cure Academy.

• ‘Self-Testing’ Versus ‘Self-Collection’—The critical role of consistent language in the field of STI diagnostics: This editorial from AVAC’s Alison Footman and colleagues makes the case for precise and consistent language around self-testing and self-collection, because clarity impacts policy, expectations, and access.
• Innovations in Sexual & Reproductive Health: This Lancet series contains a suite of five papers that describe the global implications of sociocultural and epidemiological changes in sexual and reproductive health (SRH), the innovations being developed, and analyses of the cost of scaling up these innovations versus the cost of the maintaining the status quo.
• Beyond Borders: In this October webinar, AVAC and partners featured speakers who were not able to attend the STI & HIV 2025 World Congress in July because of financial and political barriers. Presenters shared research findings, debated results, and discussed priorities for the STI field.

From Courtrooms to Communities: Funding Advocacy to Protect HIV Responses is a webinar hosted by Funders Concerned About AIDS for representatives of funding and philanthropy serving organizations. Advocacy is one of the most underfunded areas of HIV philanthropy—yet essential to defending rights and sustaining progress.
November 12, 2025 from 10:00-11:30 AM EST

The breadth and depth of the HIV response and the crosscurrent of forces bringing comprehensive change are not easy to track or translate. But it’s vital work. Informed advocates are the world’s best hope for bringing speed, scale and equity to global health and to people who need HIV prevention. We hope these resources help to keep you connected and ready for the fight.

Best,

AVAC