The Foundation For Aids Research

Treat asiafor nearly 25 years, amfar's treat asia program (therapeutics research, education, and aids training in asia) has been working with partners across the asia-pacific region to expand access to treatment for hiv and related conditions such as hepatitis c (hcv) and improve standards of care. The treat asia network encompasses 21 adult and 18 pediatric sites in 12 countries throughout the region, which collaborate on a variety of projects. Treat asia scientists published 22 papers in peer-reviewed medical journals in fy2024. Treat asia and network partner researchtreat asia and its network partners conducted a range of studies in 2024, including research on long-term treatment outcomes of adolescents and young adults living with hiv; pregnancy outcomes among women living with hiv; lung cancer and other lung conditions in hiv and tb; mental health; the benefits of a rapid hepatitis b vaccination regimen for vulnerable populations; cognitive impairment; hpv among adolescents; cervical dysplasia and hpv infection in women living with hiv; and prep uptake. Drawing on the expertise of dr. Jeremy ross, treat asia's director of research, and network partners, treat asia convened its first-ever think tank addressing clinical, research, and policy needs related to women and hiv in the asia-pacific region with the goal of informing treat asia's research plans for this vulnerable and often neglected population. International aids databasetreat asia manages the asia-pacific section of the international epidemiology databases to evaluate aids (iedea), a global collaboration established by the u.s. National institute of allergy and infectious diseases. Iedea is central to a wide range of international studies in which treat asia participates.iedea dolutegravir resistance studythis global study led by the university of bern aims to identify patterns and risk factors for virologic failure in adults on dolutegravir-based art, and to investigate correlations between resistance genotypes across hiv-1 subtypes. The study is ongoing in three iedea asia-pacific network sites in cambodia (1) and thailand (2). Iedea tuberculosis sentinel research network: the study aims to describe clinical and treatment outcomes of pulmonary tb and provide a platform for global tb research among people with and without hiv. Three sites in cambodia and thailand are participating.iedea sentinel research network: this global study is assessing liver, cardio-metabolic, mental health, and substance use comorbidities among people with hiv over 40 years of age, on art for more than six months. It is being implemented at two sites in india and vietnam.integrating hiv, mental health, and implementation science researchthe objective of the chimera program (capacity development for hiv and mental health research in asia) is to address the dual and interlinked burdens of hiv and mental health. Co-led by principal investigators dr. Annette sohn, amfar vice president and director of treat asia, and dr. Milton wainberg of columbia university and the new york state psychiatric institute, the program aims to build a team within the asia-pacific with the capacity to lead regional hiv-mental health-implementation science research that will inform public health policy and improve clinical care.chimera creates the opportunity to bring together stellar training faculty from academic centers and public health and development agencies within the region and across the world, and builds on existing nih-funded mental health research being conducted through iedea asia-pacific. Fellows presented poster abstracts at the hiv and aging conference in washington, d.c., in october 2023, gave oral presentations at the global iedea meeting in cte d'ivoire in april, and participated in the asia-pacific aids & co-infections conference in singapore in june. Throughout the year, they made strides in data collection, data coding, and preliminary analysis. Improving health through informationobservational databasesthe information gathered from clinical sites in three databasestreat asia hiv observational database (tahod); tahod low-intensity transfer; and treat asia pediatric hiv observational databasecontinues to inform the development of more effective research and treatment programs and help define treatment standards specific to hiv/aids in asia.launched in 2021, the region's first adult observational database for hiv/aidstahodtransitioned to the tahod continuum of care (tahod-cc) cohort in 2022. In fy2024, tahod-cc continued its data collection and cleaning of transfers from september 2023, including over 65,000 patients from 19 asia-pacific sites. The september 2024 transfer included a newly added site, hasan sadikin hospital/ universitas padjadjaran in bandung, indonesia. Community-led monitoring dashboardwith the help of amfar's public policy office and along with community network for empowerment (cone) in manipur, india, and peduli hati in indonesia, treat asia developed an online dashboard (www.clm-asia.org) to expand and enhance community-led monitoring in the implementing organizations' respective country regions. The dashboard is supported in part by viiv healthcare.treat asia's community-led monitoring in asia project is already having a significant impact at the countrywide level. For its implementation guidelines, the indonesian ministry of health adopted program indicators measuring hepatitis b and c care delivery developed through the clm project. International aids conference on hiv science and other conferencestreat asia had a strong presence at the 25th international aids conference. Director dr. Annette sohn gave multiple presentations, including one at the international workshop on hiv & pediatrics preceding the main conference. Giten khwairakpam, treat asia's program manager, community and policy, and numerous treat asia partner investigators and affiliates also presented at the conference.in addition treat asia participated in the singapore hiv congress 2023; and, in 2024, the 26th bangkok international symposium on hiv medicine; the conference on retroviruses and opportunistic infections and the global iedea meeting, both in denver, colorado; the 26th international workshop on hiv and hepatitis observational databases in vilamoura, portugal; the all iedea global meeting, in abidjan, cte d'ivoire; apacc 2024 in hong kong; the fogarty international center (fic) hiv research training network meeting (virtual); and the 10th global validation advisory committee meeting for elimination of mother-to-child transmission of hiv, syphilis, and hepatitis b virus in geneva, switzerland.publicationsalong with lay-language articles on hiv/aids research, policy, and community issues facing the asia-pacific region, treat asia published a fact sheet titled understanding who guidelines for the prevention, care, diagnosis, and treatment of people with chronic hepatitis b infection.

Public informationamfar translates and disseminates information on important hiv-related research, treatment, prevention, and policy issues for diverse audiences to increase awareness and knowledge of the pandemic. Amfar publishes a wide range of educational materials, maintains an informative website, and engages respected public figures, scientists, and policymakers in communicating the need for continued research to develop new methods of prevention and treatment, and a cure for hiv. Educational materials amfar produces periodicals in both print and digital formats, including its newsletter, innovations, published twice a year and distributed to about 16,000 people, and a monthly e-mail newsletter, insights, distributed to approximately 20,000 recipients. The foundation's websitewww.amfar.orgfeatures news, interviews, and original articles covering hiv research, policy, the global epidemic, and amfar programs and activities. The website attracts an average of 36,500 monthly visits. Amfar creates and distributes reports, press releases, and updates on major hiv/aids issues and conducts public service advertising campaigns that have been instrumental in educating policymakers, healthcare professionals, people living with hiv/aids, and the public. Amfar's public information team also works closely with the public policy office and treat asia staff (see above) to produce a wide range of issue briefs, facts sheets, infographics, and reports.social mediaamfar has vigorously expanded its presence in the social media arena, reaching large numbers of people, including a younger demographic that is often less educated about hiv and the aids epidemic. Posts in fy2024 covered topics such as hiv funding priorities in the american south, hiv criminalization, cuts in hiv funding, prep access, and the importance of reauthorizing pepfar. Amfar regularly updates its social channels with the latest research breakthroughs and policy news, as well as detailed coverage from its world-renowned fundraising galas. Attuned to the shifting landscape of social media, amfar has expanded its social media presence to include threads and bluesky, and increased messaging on linkedin. Amfar has 84,000 followers on facebook, more than 41,000 x (formerly twitter) followers, over 121,000 tiktok followers, 36,200 threads followers, and 206,000 instagram followers. In response to amfar gala cannes, the foundation garnered over 3.3 million video views with 6.5 million impressions on owned social channels and 46,000 total mentions of amfar online, and gained 10,350 followers across channels. Media outreachamfar continued to work closely with the media to raise the profile of hiv/aids, both domestically and internationally, and to help ensure the accuracy of hiv-related press coverage. Amfar garnered approximately 5,430 mentions across media in fy2024. Articles and reports involving amfarmany of which included interviews with staffwere carried in numerous media outlets, including the new york times, the washington post, journal of the international aids society, the lancet, the guardian, billboard, the hill, medscape, poz, positively aware, paris match, people, politico, vanity fair, variety, vogue, women's wear daily, elle, esquire, the hollywood reporter, town & country, reuters, ap news, yahoo, cbs news, and abc news.multimodal awareness-raisingamfar frequently spotlights aids awareness not only across different platforms but across different media in order to reach diverse audiences. For world aids day on december 1, 2023, amfar's public information team produced a video featuring the organization's ceo, program heads, board co-chairs, and celebrity supporters, offering insights into progress on hiv/aids, domestic and foreign hiv policy, and current hiv research. Amfar marked national hiv/aids awareness days throughout the year.in december 2023, amfar commissioned a harris poll that asked a sample of 2,053 adults in the u.s. About their knowledge of and attitudes toward hiv as a public health threat, hiv treatment and prevention, and hiv cure research. The results were shared widely in print and online.for the 2024 international aids conference in munich, germany, amfar created a web platform promoting amfar staff presentations and workshops and providing daily in-person reporting. And in june 2024, amfar exhibited at the 28th annual brooklyn pride multicultural festival in brooklyn, new york, to help raise awareness about hiv/aids and the vital work the organization does.celebrity support amfar's public awareness efforts are greatly enhanced by the committed support of public figures who lend their voices and donate their time, talents, and resources to help sustain the foundation's mission. Support of amfar from prominent public figures began with the late dame elizabeth taylor, amfar's founding international chairman, and others have followed in her footsteps. Amfar is profoundly grateful for the continuing support of celebrities from all over the world.celebrity supporters included pedro almodvar, jonathan bailey, antonio banderas, angela bassett, kate beckinsale, cher, alan cumming, willem dafoe, jason derulo, colman domingo, cynthia erivo, richard gere, goldie hawn, tommy hilfiger, kris jenner, nick jonas, milla jovovich, heidi klum, diane kruger, julian lennon, eva longoria, andie macdowell, julianna margulies, demi moore, catherine o'hara, vanessa redgrave, joely richardson, amber riley, coco rocha, michelle rodriguez, carine roitfeld, kelly rowland, alexander skarsgrd, sting, sylvester stallone, ellen von unwerth, dionne warwick, rumer willis, jeffrey wright, michelle yeoh, and zhang ziyi.

Public policy ending the hiv epidemic in the u.s.throughout the year, amfar worked closely with members of the biden administration, the cdc, national institutes of health, and the department of health and human services to promote an evidenced-based response to the u.s. Hiv epidemic and discuss policy initiatives. Amfar focused much of its efforts on keeping domestic and international hiv funding on track and continuing its data-driven advocacy of rational and compassionate hiv/aids-related public policy, while engaging in efforts to expand access to prevention, treatment, and care for marginalized populations; promote women's health research; incorporate technology into healthcare delivery, policy, research, and education; and protect the civil rights of all people affected by or vulnerable to hiv/aids. At croi 2024, staff presented an abstract on the negative impact of title x family planning program funding restrictions on hiv testing and diagnoses. The study found an overall decline in regional hiv testing from before and after the federal regulation was instituted, likely related to both the new restrictions and covid-19. However, the decline in overall regional hiv testing was significantly greater in regions highly impacted by the federal regulation, supporting the theory that the federal regulation drove the reduction in regional hiv testing at title x sites beyond trends related to covid-19.ensuring global health accessamfar maintains an active role in global advocacy and policy initiatives, and policy staff participate in pepfar country operational plan meetings, the global fund partnership forum, and the un high-level meetings on hiv/aids. Amfar engages in advocacy with house and senate appropriations committees to secure strong global hiv budgets and closely track and respond to new global health policies. In 2024, amfar participated in a pepfar five-year strategy meeting, provided input into the development and implementation of the pepfar mid-term review process, and held several meetings with pepfar staff. Amfar also met with who, the global fund, unaids, and others to discuss the hiv implications of the global gag rule.additionally, amfar plays a key role as a technical assistance provider for in-country community-led monitoring efforts in ten countriessouth africa, lesotho, malawi, uganda, kenya, tanzania, haiti, zimbabwe, and (with treat asia) india and indonesia. In this role, amfar engages with local activists and data collection teams to ensure high-quality data are produced for hiv service quality monitoring and advocacy initiatives. Amfar participated in numerous presentations and panels at meetings and conferences throughout the year. Staff delivered presentations at the international conference on aids and stis in africa in harare, zimbabwe, in december 2023. At the 25th international aids conference, amfar submitted seven abstracts covering topics such as hiv-focused implementation science and community-led monitoring. Amfar published a new policy brief, dual epidemics: leveraging hiv infrastructure to support hpv prevention, testing, and cervical cancer elimination goals, that examines how hiv and hpv intersect and negatively impact women's health outcomes, and how service delivery for both could be integrated. The brief describes different service integration models that range from training existing clinic staff to engaging broad referral networks, all of which are tailored to the unique needs of women living with hiv. It also offers concrete recommendations to expand primary prevention with art coverage and hpv vaccination, increase access to cervical cancer screening and treatment tools, enhance data availability, build multi-sectoral partnerships, and maximize technological innovations.in addition, amfar's policy team co-hosted a webinar, advancing global health equity: investing in integrated hiv, hpv, and cervical cancer initiatives, with funders concerned about aids to educate hiv donors on opportunities to integrate programs on these diseases.empowerment through dataamfar is at the forefront of data collection for advocacy purposes, fortifying public health responses with accurate information. In fy2024, for example, amfar met with cdc staff to incorporate the agency's data into additional hiv-related policy analyses.in addition, amfar maintains a suite of free interactive databases that are invaluable resources for individuals and organizations working to secure and monitor hiv-related funding and tailor programs to meet the needs of clients. Advocates from around the world rely on these resources to easily access data and prepare advocacy initiatives. The five databases are: pepfar monitoring, evaluation, and reporting (mer.amfar.org) pepfar country/regional operational plans (copsdata.amfar.org) key populations and key population investment fund (kpif) data project (kpdata.amfar.org) ending the hiv epidemic in the u.s. (ehe.amfar.org) opioid & heath indicators database (opioid.amfar.org) sharing knowledge, amplifying expertisein april 2024, amfar and partner organizations released a report titled community engagement in global fund country coordinating mechanisms: findings from the rise study. The rise (representation, inclusion, sustainability, and equity) study is an independent, community-owned research project co-sponsored by amfar that examines the grantmaking processes of the global fund to fight tb, malaria and aids. Study authors conducted a survey as well as in-depth individual interviews with over 650 eligible participants from 83 countries. The rise study was honored with the prestigious 2024 robert carr research award at the 2024 international aids conference.throughout the year, amfar staff published articles on a range of topics in academic and policy journals: the lancet hiv, october 2024, "the long wait for long-acting hiv prevention and treatment formulations" the lancet hiv, july 2024, "is hiv epidemic control by 2030 realistic?" plos global public health, june 2024, "facilitators and barriers to community-led monitoring of health programs: qualitative evidence from the global implementation landscape" the hill, june 2024, "aids amnesia is putting women's lives at risk" journal of the international aids society, december 2023, "there is no path to ending aids by 2030 without improving human rights"