September 15, 2021
Dear Advocate,
We have a number of new resources and opportunities!
Apply to Be an AVAC Fellow
AVAC is accepting applications—due October 12—for the next cadre of Advocacy Fellows!
Learn more about this vanguard program for advocates, who have gone on to lead and
advance HIV prevention advocacy for more than a decade.
Read more about the work and achievements of past Fellows, check out recordings from the info sessions, and learn why this program earns testimonials like this one from a longtime colleague in the field of HIV prevention, Shaun Mellors: “This is probably one of the more effective & powerhouse fellowship programmes that I have experienced. Are you an emerging or mid-career advocate interested in HIV prevention? Then this is definitely for you!”
PEPFAR & Global Fund: Looking forward
AVAC, partners and a broad swath of civil society from southern and eastern Africa have
issued seven key priorities that should guide the development of PEPFAR strategy to 2025, with specific recommendations for each. Read all about it on our blog:
AVAC and Partners Seek to Influence PEPFAR 2021-25 Strategy and Accelerate Impactful Key Population Programming.
And read this
Devex.com opinion piece by
Mitchell Warren and
Carlos del Rio on why
US leadership matters in fighting AIDS.
For an overview of how PEPFAR has approached the provision of prevention services during the pandemic, watch the September 10 webinar from AVAC and the Global AIDS Policy Partnership,
Innovations and Challenges of PEPFAR Prevention Programming During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has similarly responded to the challenges stemming from COVID-19 with innovation. AVAC worked with RESULTS, Health GAP, Partners in Health, Treatment Action Group, and Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to demonstrate
why the Global Fund is the best-situated funding mechanism to scale up investments in health systems. This investment is essential for global pandemic preparedness that is rooted in a vision of global health solidarity.
Check out this new report from the Global Fund on the impact of COVID-19 on HIV, TB and Malaria,
The Results Report. And for a quick take on the report, go to
this New York Times article, which includes comments from AVAC’s executive director.
The Imbokodo HIV Vaccine Trial Finds No Significant Efficacy, So What’s Next?
Johnson & Johnson and partners announced that the Imbokodo study, a large-scale HIV vaccine proof-of-concept trial, also known as
HVTN 705/HPX2008, did not significantly reduce the overall risk of HIV acquisition. Watch AVAC’s September 9 webinar,
Imbokodo Vaccine Trial Results and Implications for the Field—A Global Discussion, where the trial’s leaders and advocates discuss what the results mean and how they will inform future research.
AVAC’s statement on the Imbokodo trial,
HIV Vaccine Research Must Continue Following Disappointing Result from Imbokodo Trial, calls for a comprehensive strategy for HIV vaccine research that takes into account a wealth of lessons learned in the last 18 months. And check out AVAC’s Nandi Luthuli and Mitchell Warren talking about the results and their implications in
The Body:
The Latest Big HIV Vaccine Disappointment Means We Must Double Down on Other Prevention Methods.
Infographics
AVAC has updated two of our graphics, both timelines of large-scale prevention trials.
The Years Ahead in Biomedical HIV Prevention Research offers details such as study population, locations and the status of large-scale prevention trials through 2024.
Years Ahead in HIV Prevention Research: Time to Market is a streamlined version of products on the path licensure.
Coming Up!
From AVAC and AIDS Foundation of Chicago, next up in the webinar series on the HIV prevention pipeline of research and development:
Can Fantasies Become Realities? The Quest for Multi-purpose Prevention Products. Register for this October 13 webinar, 10am ET / 3pm SAST / 4pm EAT, to learn more about research on strategies that simultaneously protect against two or more things, such as HIV and pregnancy, or two different sexually transmitted diseases.
Best,
AVAC
