HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Toolkit

HVAD is observed annually on May 18th. This year, we at AVAC are emphasizing the urgent need to change assumptions and raise awareness around AIDS vaccine research. The field is as energized as it has ever been with key next steps towards an AIDS vaccine happening as we speak. The materials we’ve developed are designed to help start or strengthen conversations with different audiences.

The toolkit includes:

Change Assumptions, Raise Awareness: Key facts and messages to use on HVAD 2011

“What You Can Do”: A guide to raising vaccine awareness

Participatory training tools to help you deliver information in easy-to-understand ways

The following is a set of innovative tools that can be used to lead fun, participatory activities during your HVAD event. These tools are specifically designed to be used with audiences who may have little to no technical understanding of vaccine development and/or the clinical research process. They will facilitate exciting discussions to build capacity about the clinical trials process, why vaccine research is important, and related issues.

• Training session: Why We Still Need a Vaccine
  Instructions for conducting a participatory activity that will enable your audience to explain basic characteristics of new and experimental HIV prevention options, and to articulate the benefit of an eventual vaccine.
• PowerPoint presentation: Randomized Controlled Clinical HIV Prevention Trials – The Basics
  Simple slide set with notes to lead an interactive presentation.
• Training session: Clinical Trials – How Do We Know if a Product Works?
  Instructions for conducting a participatory activity that will enable your audience to explain the concept of effectiveness and how it is proven in the clinical trial process; ideally to follow the Power Point Presentation above.
• Training session: Agree or Disagree – HIV Vaccines
  Instructions for conducting a lively debate about HIV vaccine-related ‘hot’ topics or issues.

In recognition of HVAD, community activities and media events are being held across the globe. For a list of HVAD events, visit the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise's HVAD webpage. If you are interested in convening your own event, whether it be a small lunchtime discussion with colleagues or a community-wide town hall meeting, AVAC has developed easy-to-use materials to help. Also, while HVAD is recognized officially on May 18th, we encourage you to take on the task of raising awareness and changing assumptions throughout the year!

What you can do:

Organize a meeting or event

• Bring AIDS vaccines into your conversations and planned activities. Change the common assumption that an AIDS vaccine is not feasible in our lifetimes; provide information on developments in clinical trials; challenge yourself and others to think about where an AIDS vaccine would fit in the spectrum of other prevention tools. (Check out the training on why we still need an AIDS vaccine—it's a great way to do this!)
• Organize a meeting at your organization to discuss the latest in AIDS vaccine and HIV prevention research and distribute information. You can download AVAC materials listed below, or we can mail you printed copies.
• Contact other AIDS organizations in your community that might be planning events in May or June and consider including AIDS vaccine information to raise awareness through speakers, exhibitors and performers at forums, health fairs, community events, etc.

Attend an event

• Even if you don’t have time or resources to plan your own event, you can take part in marking HVAD by attending planned events in your local community or joining the virtual community via teleconference or webinar.
• Display exhibits, posters, flyers, videos, or brochures about HIV prevention research at an existing community event. (See materials for download below.)

Reach out to the media

• Write a letter or editorial in your local newspaper, newsletter or other publications on the importance of vaccines and HIV prevention research. (For key messages go to the AVAC’s AIDS vaccine advocacy statement.)
• Organize a media roundtable to discuss the news in HIV prevention research.

Distribute materials:
In addition to what is included in the Advocate's toolkit, click below to download other resource materials:

• A glossary of terms (excerpted from the IAVI Vax Toolkit)
• AVAC’s introductory AIDS vaccine online tutorial
• A downloadable slide set on vaccine basics
• Factsheets on AIDS vaccines and other biomedical prevention interventions
• Materials on the recently discontinued FEM-PrEP trial
• NIAID’s fact sheets, brochures and FAQs
• Global map and timeline of ongoing vaccine trials and other biomedical HIV prevention trials