Engage

Ensuring community engagement in COVID R&D

Building upon a strong foundation developed largely through HIV and TB research, AVAC, TAG and ITPC are partnering with health advocates, civil society representatives and impacted individuals around the world to launch a COVID Advocates Advisory Board (CAAB). The CAAB builds on the experience of community advisory structures such as AfroCAB, Global TB CAB, World CAB, Coalition to Accelerate and Support Prevention Research (CASPR), ATAC, EATG/ECAB, NIH DAIDS Community Partners, and HIV Prevention Trial Design Academy, and was developed to bring civil society and community expertise to the COVID R&D enterprise.

Robust community engagement and consultation is essential to support the ethical, efficient advancement of COVID R&D; build understanding and support for research studies in the communities in which they occur; and ensure equitable, global access to urgently needed interventions.

The CAAB’s work includes:

• Lobbying for formal engagement with all four pillars of WHO’s ACT-Accelerator (ACT-A) and the US government’s Operation Warp Speed, ACTIV and CoVPN programs, in order to ensure civil society input into research and access planning, development, implementation, and dissemination of results;
• Expanding research literacy to support civil society input into COVID-19 research at community, national, regional and global levels;
• Adapting and disseminating an approach to applying Good Participatory Practice Guidelines to COVID research;
• Facilitating meaningful dialogue among research teams and communities so stakeholders' perspectives are included in the design, planning, and implementation of clinical trials and there is open communication about research goals, processes, and results;
• Advocating for equitable access to products developed through COVID-19 R&D to all people in need.

The CAAB has been designed as a ready platform to facilitate meaningful dialogue among research teams and communities; provide stakeholders' perspectives on the design, planning, and implementation of clinical trials; enable open communication about research goals, processes, and results; and advocate for equitable access to products developed through COVID R&D to all people in need.

The CAAB has already begun to build common understanding and capacity around COVID research, which can be tailored and adapted to different contexts and communities. For more information visit the CAAB website or contact us at avac@avac.org.