30 Years of Standing for Science and Equity

Dear Advocate,

This month, AVAC marked our 30th anniversary. Over three decades, the HIV field has evolved dramatically—but what we do, and why we do it, has remained constant: standing for science, equity, and community leadership, and ensuring evidence drives decisions that affect people’s lives. We’ve been able to do this work because of your partnership and support, and we are deeply grateful.

Last week, we also released the 2025 update of the People’s Research Agenda (PRA), which tracks the science, highlights where investments align—or fail to align—with community priorities, and identifies critical gaps that must be addressed to ensure the prevention pipeline meets the needs of diverse populations. After ten months of disruption and uncertainty across biomedical research and global health, we hope this agenda helps share a path forward, one that will demand sharper priorities, smarter investments, and a balanced portfolio focused on real epidemic impact.

At the same time, we are seeing real progress. In just the past month, people in Brazil, Eswatini, South Africa, and Zambia began receiving the first doses of lenacapavir for PrEP (LEN) through early implementation programs outside the US, with additional deliveries of LEN planned for Eswatini, Zambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

AVAC’s updated map of Global Fund and PEPFAR-supported LEN supply shows how quickly this breakthrough is moving and what’s possible when political will, funding, community engagement, and innovation align. But there is still so much more to do – as we wrote last week, science alone won’t get us there: the future of HIV prevention depends on speed, scale and equity. 

As these advances continue to develop, AVAC will continue to help make sense of the rapidly shifting global health landscape. From World AIDS Day passing with little acknowledgment by the US government, to the LEN rollout (and South Africa being left behind), to the gutting of foreign aid and impact on HIV prevention and global health, to new bilateral health MoUs under the US “America First” strategy, AVAC has shared real-time analysis and context on the most pressing issues of December. Global Health Watch, now in its 46th week, will continue providing consistent, trusted context so you can navigate the turmoil with clarity, purpose and solidarity.   

As we enter our fourth decade, your support makes it possible for AVAC to keep tracking the science, elevating community priorities, and delivering real-time analysis when it matters most. If you’re able, we invite you to consider making a year-end gift to sustain this work. 

Thank you for being part of this work, and for standing with AVAC. 

Very best for a restful and rejuvenating festive season, 

AVAC