Couldn’t be more thrilled to share this news! @drdemetre.bsky.social has been a beacon in public health and infectious disease for decades and now we have the honor of him leading us and our larger community at @callen-lorde.org. Welcome home, Demetre!

We’re proud to honor @drdemetre.bsky.social, lifelong public health champion, at the 25th Annual Community Health Awards! From directing local and federal responses to infectious diseases, to standing up for science at the CDC, his impact is undeniable. Don’t miss it: callen-lorde.org/cha 💙

I'm thrilled to speak w @mynameisjro.bsky.social about crafting effective messaging & the power of authentic storytelling. When: Tues, May 6 (10 AM EST) Where: @gbgmc.bsky.social's "Fighting For Our Lives" Webinar. Who: Activist & Comms Pro, Jason Rosenberg Register: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

A dramatic demonstration yesterday outside the State Department building protesting the Trump administration's cuts to PEPFAR despite that program being wildly successful and saving countless lives.

Activists piled hundreds of fake coffins at the State Dept. today to warn of mass deaths if funds from the global AIDS relief program PEPFAR are not reinstated. One analysis estimates that over 36,000 adults and nearly 4,000 children have died overseas as a result of the funding cuts. Full story TK

HAPPENING NOW: AIDS ACTIVISTS DELIVER MOUNTAIN OF COFFINS IN FUNERAL PROCESSION OUTSIDE US STATE DEPARTMENT PROTESTING MARCO RUBIOS ATTACKS ON PEPFAR IMPACTING MILLIONS OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV WORLDWIDE.

Having a talk w/a friend who just started using PrEP bc... she didn't know it was available to women. When she found out about it, she asked her OBGYN why it had never been mentioned. The OBGYN said: Even tho you have many partners, you weren't at risk until you started having sex w bisexual men.

This was a painful but rewarding story to work on. For New York Magazine, I wrote about the devastating effect of AIDS on the city's theater community, and what has become a decades-long effort to create a full list of those we lost. www.vulture.com/article/hiv-....

As the current administration continues to gut AIDS funding and make attempts to erase our history, pieces such as this serves as a reminder that there is still so much unwritten history. Thank you Mark for telling it.

Today is my last day at AVAC! I am so proud of the work myself and fellow communications colleagues produced in creating public awareness of the latest in HIV prevention research and ensuring advocates all over the world have the tools and resources they need to push for access in their communities.

More than two dozen people were forced from a congressional building in Washington, D.C. in zip-tie hand cuffs, all of whom were protesting the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid. 📹Footage credit: @elissamio.bsky.social. #Trump #USAID

TODAY: 21 protesters decrying the blowing up of the #PEPFAR program, which saves the lives of babies with HIV, are arrested in the Cannon House Office Building @altusaid.bsky.social @hivpxresearch.bsky.social @housingworksnyc.bsky.social

The Capitol Police arrested a group of peaceful protesters who demonstrated today in the Cannon House Office Building against the Trump’s decision to freeze foreign aid and lay off thousands of USAID workers. The president has made his message clear: disagree with them, and they will come after you.

Spots open!! 📸 Photoshoot this weekend with @genderlib.com. Share your story in a new campaign! Photographed by @rosscollab, we'll highlight SWrs in NY to promote Cecilia's Act, the bill to decrim SW. $50 stipend available. 📧 Email: [email protected] if interested!

This decision is a step forward for HIV prevention and global health equity. The USG has a responsibility to end this massive disruption and harm to work that is essential to global health and national security. Thank you for your support, @publiccitizen.bsky.social! www.citizen.org/news/critica...

HAPPENING NOW: AIDS activists disrupt USAID hearing demanding a full restoration of #PEPFAR, a global AIDS program that has saved over 26M lives. “PEPFAR SAVES LIVES! RESTORE AIDS FUNDING NOW!”

HAPPENING NOW: AIDS ADVOCATES ARE OUTSIDE THE US STATE DEPARTMENT TO PROTEST TRUMP AND RUBIOS FREEZE ON AID AND ATTACKS ON PEPFAR IMPACTING 20 MILLION PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV WORLDWIDE.

keep it up

We published the leaked guidance for @PEPFAR on the waiver to the funding freeze for "life-saving humanitarian assistance programs" here: docs.google.com/document/d/e... >> a thread 🧵:

Kennedy just said during his confirmation hearing that he will support PEPFAR, but he has openly questioned the connection between HIV and AIDS, a dangerous conspiracy theory. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

My question for RFK Jr: As recent as 2023, you told New York Magazine that, “There are much better candidates than HIV for what causes AIDS.” In 2021 you published a book titled, The Real Anthony Fauci where you discredit early advancements in HIV treatment and...

We are in such dark and dispiriting times, in so many ways, but especially within the HIV community. We have never seen this level of attacks on lifesaving programs in decades. Ending the epidemic has never felt this out of reach in my lifetime.

We are seeing how US elections impact our work as #HIV prevention advocates in real time: ➡️ Pause on foreign aid ➡️ Withdrawal from WHO ➡️ Reinstated global gag rule ➡️ Anti-trans policies 📣 Follow our brand-new weekly newsletter, #GlobalHealthWatch to get the latest. avac.org/blog/introdu...

Hitler also called professors the enemy. (p. 12, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich)

What this crushing news about PEPFAR means. Needless HIV acquisitions and needless deaths. Not even a week of the Trump administration and there is already blood on his hands.

Many sudden and shocking health care developments this week. But this was a big one: The Trump administration on Friday paused funding for PEPFAR, the famed program to fight HIV/AIDS around the world. @mradamtaylor.bsky.social @johnphudson.bsky.social Missy Ryan + a little help from me

My dear friend and ACT UP veteran Annette Guadino never swayed in her commitment to justice and a better world. Now it’s time to show up for her in her time of recovery. Please donate and share far and wide. gofund.me/917d5a64

Any "credit" should go towards the people of Gaza who stayed resilient and documented their horrors to the world in real time

This profoundly important piece by Mohammad Alsaafin is a must-read today: www.thenation.com/article/worl...

Never again means never again for anyone

Ken yehi ratzon. May it be so and may the people of Palestine be free from genocide and apartheid.

This is the one. It’s not the only correct argument in this thread but it’s the one with mass appeal, which is to say you don’t have to know anything about trans people to go “hey yeah”

Does anyone know someone who is good at creating a quick and easy website?

My friends @thrasherxy.bsky.social and Afeef Nessouli penned this piece via @theintercept.com about a Queer Palestinian in Gaza living in HIV who has continuously run out of HIV meds due to Israel's genocide and bombardment of Gaza. Please read, please share: theintercept.com/2025/01/13/i...

A must-read by @thrasherxy.bsky.social & Afeef Nassouli about a queer person w/ HIV living in Gaza facing unimaginable challenges-from stigma to life-threatening med shortages to experiencing genocide. Grateful to contribute as an HIV expert to this powerful piece. theintercept.com/2025/01/13/i...

JUST PUBLISHED: It has been the honor of my career to co-author "Queer, HIV+ and Running Out of Medication in Gaza" with Afeef Nessouli @theintercept.com —a story about Palestine, AIDS, genocide, and an extraordinary survivor named E.S. Please read & share. theintercept.com/2025/01/13/i...

The HIV community lost a fierce and steadfast advocate, Bryan C. Jones, who was pivotal in the #UEqualsU campaign and was a leader in the fight against HIV criminalization. Rest in peace and power, Bryan. You will be missed. #HIVIsNotACrime @thebodydotcom.bsky.social www.thebody.com/hiv/hiv-aids...

January is #CervicalCancer Awareness Month. During this time last year, AVAC alongside partners and experts in the field hosted a wide range of conversations surfacing topics such as treatment and prevention, hearing directly from advocates and exploring which communities are most impacted.

Thinking about the efforts HIV/AIDS advocates took to removing anti-PrEP ads from Facebook/Instagram and how health mis/disinformation will flourish thanks to Zuckerberg’s newly announced policies.

On topics such as #UEqualsU, new #PrEP technologies including long-acting injectables, the dual prevention pill (#DPP) and the dapivirine vaginal ring (#DVR), AVACs 2024-2025 fellows are already realizing important advocacy wins. Learn more about their successes here 🌟 avac.org/blog/much-ac...

From the implementation of #DoxyPEP, to the groundbreaking trial results of #LEN for #PrEP, there have been major strides in #HIV and #STI prevention in 2024. AVAC’s resources track it all to inform your advocacy. See our top 🔟 most downloaded resources of 2024 at avac.org/2024MostDownloaded

2024 has been full of rich and invigorating conversations on our podcast #PxPulse, ranging on topics such as LGBTQ+ rights in Uganda, choice and #HIV prevention, how the US election impacts public health and more. Join us for a season of listening at avac.org/px-pulse 🎧

An update from Walid in Gaza—his brother has just had his leg amputated after an assault. Can we send some help their way? gofund.me/35ce75af

Someone needs to write an article about the AI driven songs in housewives. It’s absolutely out of control

i honestly think it would be way more effective if dems just plainly said "elon musk has trump on a leash and they're both trying to screw you"

Just released! 💥 #LEN, the twice-yearly injectable #PrEP has the potential to transform the #HIV response, but only if it is rolled out with speed, scale and equity. Read the latest op-ed from AVAC’s ED Mitchell Warren and @jirairratevosian.bsky.social in @devex.com. www.devex.com/news/opinion...

BREAKING: The biggest strike against Amazon in U.S. history is happening right now. The Teamsters are picketing facilities across the country. The union has organized workers at 10 Amazon locations AND they're putting up picket lines at hundreds of other Amazon sites nationwide.

Only 14 Senate Dems had a spine to vote against the anti-trans FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which included provisions banning gender-affirming care for trans youth. thehill.com/policy/defen...