Dr Jirair Ratevosian

Lancet: Fundamental PEPFAR reform risks a period of structural vulnerability in the HIV response

by Jirair Ratevosian, Chris Beyrer @jirairratevosian.bsky.social @thelancet.com

bit.ly/4tXC6HP

Twice-yearly HIV prevention drug to be offered at new, low cost - The World from PRX An HIV prevention drug will be made available at a new, low cost in 120 low- and middle-income countries starting in 2027, according to an announcement yesterday. The move is being called a “once-in-a...

Big news this week for injectable lenacapavir for #HIV #PrEP! Terrific summary from @biancahillier.bsky.social at @theworld.org with our ED, Mitchell Warren, @jirairratevosian.bsky.social, @unitaid.bsky.social and Wits RHI

🎧 here: theworld.org/segments/202...

The HIV Movement Is Marching Forward—Again IAS 2025 delivers a clear message: communities are the frontline, not the afterthought.

My roundup of big HIV updates from ViiV, Gilead, Merck, WHO and more. I also share reflections on #IAS2025 and the future.
Grateful to Prof Linda Gail Bekker who brought Keith Haring into the conversation—his legacy still speaks volumes. @pozmagazine.bsky.social

www.poz.com/article/hiv-...

AI in HIV Prevention Systems An important commentary in The Lancet HIV, led by Commissioner Jirair Ratevosian, calls for urgent and ethical integration of AI into HIV prevention systems. Drawing from the insights of a recent c…

@jirairratevosian.bsky.social led a commentary calling for urgent and ethical integration of AI into HIV prevention systems. This reminds us to move beyond pilots and ensure the real work happens with the community to make lasting, sustainable impacts.
ai4hiv.com/ai-in-hiv-pr...
#AI4HIV #AI4Health

The Kigali Call to Action: Standing Together for the Global HIV Response The Kigali Call to Action is a global rallying cry to protect hard-won progress in the fight against HIV. Launched during IAS 2025, it highlights urgent threats—funding cuts, political setbacks, and r...

Thank you @who.int @drtedros.who.int for signing the Kigali Call to Action. actionnetwork.org/petitions/ki... If you work in public health, we invite you to read and sign the petition to world leaders. #IAS2025 @judyauerbach.bsky.social

At a time when progress against HIV remains fragile, political inaction sends the wrong message to communities, donors, and implementing partners worldwide.

Eight countries could run out of HIV treatments due to USAID cuts, WHO says The Trump administration's decision to pause U.S. foreign aid has "substantially disrupted" supply of HIV treatments in eight countries, which could soon run out of these life-saving medicines, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

Eight countries—Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, and Ukraine—are at risk of running out of HIV treatments - @who.int
📊 Massive impact:
🔹 4.44 million people living with HIV
🔹 11.1% of the global HIV burden facing uncertainty
www.reuters.com/business/hea...

Today is the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965, when civil rights activists marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to demand voting rights for Black Americans.

Join me and Mia for a conversation about PEPFAR's future.

Thanks for an insightful conversation, Mia! Onward.

New: Our analysis indicates that the Trump administration's proposed 90-day policy review would result in at least 100,000 lives lost over the next year. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

<em>Journal of the International AIDS Society</em> | IAS HIV Research Journal | Wiley Online Library Click on the article title to read more.

"By our conservative estimate, the human cost of the new administration's proposed 90-day policy review would be at least 100,000 lives lost over 1 year," write @jirairratevosian.bsky.social @chrisbeyrer.bsky.social and Khai Tram in JIAS.

A must read ▶️ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Powerful to see this.

Keith Haring’s Legacy in Today’s World: A Conversation About HIV Activism | CSIS Events Jirair Ratevosian and Martha Sichone Cameron join Brad Gooch, author of Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring, for a conversation about Haring's legacy and impact on HIV activism.

Join us - Keith Haring’s Legacy in Today’s World: A Conversation About HIV Activism

www.csis.org/events/keith...

Uganda HIV clinics to close after USAID funding cuts

I read this article this morning and had to ask myself—what year is this?

www.tortoisemedia.com/2025/02/12/u...

Nonprofits Sue Trump Administration to Reverse Freeze on Foreign Aid Funding - Public Citizen WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, Public Citizen filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against…

New lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s freeze of foreign aid funding. www.citizen.org/news/nonprof...

A Moment of Reckoning Diary of a Foreign Aid Advocate Under Trump

A moment of reckoning for #USAID and all of global health.
We can’t just weather this storm—we have to rise from it transformed.
ratevosian.substack.com/p/a-moment-o...

‘Madness’: Trump freeze on global HIV prevention efforts sparks disbelief, anger After chaotic halt, PEPFAR’s global distribution of HIV treatments may be resuming but limits on using drugs to curb viral spread remain

“This is not only bad politics in terms of government-to-government relationships, it is bad medicine, it is bad science, and it is dumb,” says our Executive Director Mitchell Warren.

@cohenjon.bsky.social @jirairratevosian.bsky.social @linda-gailb.bsky.social

www.science.org/content/arti...

PEPFAR under review: what's at stake for PEPFAR's future The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) faces a pivotal moment, confronting one of its most challenging periods since its launch in 2003. The new policy priorities of the administra...

We need to be clear-eyed about the real challenges ahead for PEPFAR. My views here.

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

To all our USAID friends and colleagues—We stand with you in solidarity during this time. Our home is your home, and our hearts and doors are always open to support and uplift you. You are not alone—your mission is our mission.

Raskin: "Musk is not the 4th branch of government"

Too little, too late: What a Pepfar waiver can’t do - Bhekisisa On Saturday, the US state department issued details of who qualifies for a limited waiver during the Trump administration’s 90-day pause of foreign aid. The freeze has resulted in the temporary close ...

#PEPFAR has helped transform global #HIV responses since 2003. Now, a halt in funding by #Trump2025 threatens decades of progress. Lives are at risk, and partnerships are being undone. @miamalan.bsky.social @linda-gailb.bsky.social

bhekisisa.org/opinion/2025...

Members of Congress highlight illegal nature of USAID takeover.

Huge turn out in front of former USAID building.

Today, I was honored to be sworn in as a member of the President's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). This is a deeply personal and meaningful moment for me, reflecting over 20 years of working in the HIV field—a cause that has shaped so much of my life and career.

Trump Must Keep the US in the World Health Organization The global institution is standing up to China and open to making America’s financial burden more equitable.

Gordon Brown: The @who is standing up to #China and open to making America’s financial burden more equitable.
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

I love the start of a new #Congress. New energy, fresh faces among the familiar ones, and a sense of possibility fill the air, even as the challenges ahead cast a shadow of doom and gloom. The optimism is real, with smiles and determination everywhere. Now, let's get to work!

Best part of 2024 in science news... amiright?! ratevosian.substack.com/publish/post...