April 18, 2022
Dear Advocate,
In this week’s roundup, you’ll find details on an upcoming webinar covering the stand-out science from
CROI 2022; an important read on vaccine equity; new resources to support advocacy for the dapivirine vaginal ring; resources for learning about and advocating for the Dual Prevention Pill; and a special tribute to Zena Stein.
Webinar: The most notable science at CROI
Wednesday, April 27, 2022 at 9:30am ET/15:00 SAST
Join us, the CROI Community Liaison Subcommittee, and European AIDS Treatment Group for a webinar to debrief on this year's CROI. A fabulous panel will unpack findings from the conference, share perspectives, and offer advocacy suggestions. Topics will span science presented on HIV prevention and treatment, HIV and aging, HIV cure, and COVID-19.
Register here. Recorded sessions from CROI 2022 are now available
on demand. For context on the sessions, the
recordings from the Margarita Breakfast Clubs explore findings from the research of the day at CROI.
Read Vaccine equity: The rollout that needs a booster shot
An opinion piece in
The Hill newspaper
by AVAC Executive Director Mitchell Warren points out connections in global health that cut across disease and must be addressed for biomedical products to reach those who need them most. “COVID-19 has shown us the fragility of our efforts to end diseases in places where poverty is entrenched…. We invest hundreds of millions in large trials but nothing similar on how to disseminate the results…. This is not unique to any one disease: We have seen it in the lack of global vaccine equity in the COVID-19 response and we’ve seen it in TB and HIV…. We are achieving breakthroughs in developing new medicines and vaccines, but we are failing to deliver them with equity and with impact. It is well past time to do better.”
Important Voices: Ring user speak out
A video series, developed by the USAID-funded
MOSAIC Project, features the voices of women from trials in Kenya, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe that tested the dapivirine vaginal ring. Trial participants explain why the ring works for them and their need for future access to this HIV prevention method.
Watch This Space: HIV and unintended pregnancy prevention
Last week, AVAC and
FP2030 held a consultation on
the Dual Prevention Pill (DPP), a daily pill that is currently being developed for the simultaneous prevention of unintended pregnancy and HIV acquisition. The webinar brought in dynamic perspectives from the family planning and sexual & reproductive health communities. Be sure to keep this on your radar, as there will be more opportunities at AIDS2022 to learn more, get your questions answered and develop advocacy priorities for this promising multipurpose technology. Currently, the DPP is moving through
the R&D process and could be available as early as 2024. It would be the first MPT available.
Get more details on the DPP on PrEPWatch.org.
Listen: Life and legacy of Zena Stein
To reflect on the legacy of
Zena Stein, a public health, human rights and HIV prevention champion who influenced so many working in HIV prevention, the editor of the
American Journal of Public Health produced
a video-podcast conversation with
CAPRISA’s Quarraisha Abdool Karim and AVAC’s Mitchell Warren.
Best,
AVAC
