November 30, 2011

Dear Advocates,

Today, on the eve of World AIDS Day, AVAC is pleased to announce the release of its annual update of HIV prevention research, which lays out a three-part, science-based agenda for ending the AIDS epidemic in our lifetimes. AVAC Report 2011: The End?, synthesizes the actions needed across the spectrum of existing, emerging and long-term biomedical HIV prevention tools that could change the AIDS response forever.

The Report can be downloaded and viewed in reader-friendly web format at www.avac.org/report2011. You can also listen to a series of podcasts from leading activists and researchers including Ebony Johnson, Milly Katana and Patrick Ndase—each weighing in on what it is going to take to end the AIDS epidemic in our lifetimes.

AVAC Report 2011: The End? covers three major priority areas and identifies the actions needed today, so that dividends are realized in the short, medium and long term:

1. Deliver today’s proven strategies at scale, for immediate impact on the epidemic.
   Scale up innovative HIV testing programs to identify people who can benefit from prevention and treatment; expand access to treatment to preserve health and prevent transmission; and realize the full potential of voluntary medical male circumcision, a so-far underutilized tool.
   
   
2. Demonstrate and roll out emerging tools, including PrEP and microbicides, for even greater impact in 5 to 10 years.
   Quickly establish clear plans to understand how and for whom these promising tools might work; launch pilot projects to determine their best uses in different populations; and then prioritize their use in the populations, and in combinations, where their potential impact is greatest.
   
   
3. Develop long-term solutions, including an effective vaccine and a cure.
   Sustain funding to capitalize on recent scientific advances that have energized the research field.

As we all prepare to commemorate World AIDS Day on Thursday, we know that the AIDS epidemic will not come to an end in our lifetimes without substantial changes in government and civil society commitments to comprehensive AIDS programs. But AVAC and collaborators worldwide are galvanized by the gathering momentum from top political leaders committing themselves to ending the AIDS epidemic in our lifetime. And we, along with our allies, make an urgent call to donors and governments to replenish the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. We cannot achieve the end of AIDS without this crucial funding mechanism—and now, more than ever, resources can be used to achieve dramatic reductions in HIV incidence and death.

This year’s Report also introduces the AVAC “Playbook” which is a new strategic document identifying global and organizational priorities for the next twelve months.

We created AVAC Playbook 2012 because our goal is to work with partners worldwide to ensure that the answer to the question: “Will we end the epidemic?” is a resounding, “Yes”. If this is the goal, then we all need to examine our priorities. We need to do more of some things, less of others. And we need to be sure that we’re keeping track of what should happen in the next 12 months, the next few years and the next few decades. Playbook 2012 includes our analysis of what the top strategic goals should be at a global level, and particularly in hard-hit countries, over the coming year. It also includes our own organizational priorities for contributing to these goals. Please let us know what you think and how we can all do better, faster.

For more information on the coalition-based work to end the epidemic and for up-to-the minute reports on developments in implementation and research, visit www.avac.org.

Onwards,
AVAC