From 26 to 31 July 2026, the 26th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026) will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

As the world's largest conference on HIV and AIDS, it brings together scientists, policymakers, civil society and communities to exchange the latest evidence and discuss the future of the global HIV response.

The conference takes place only a few weeks after the United Nations High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS, where Member States adopted a new Political Declaration on the global HIV response. Despite challenging negotiations, key principles of a human rights-based approach to HIV were preserved.

However, political declarations only make a difference if they are followed by concrete action. The conference therefore provides an important opportunity to discuss how the global community can respond to profound shifts in global health, growing international disengagement and the dramatic decline in global health financing. The conference theme captures this ambition: "Rethink. Rebuild. Rise."

At the same time, it is essential to safeguard the progress achieved over the past decades. Every year, around 570,000 people still die from AIDS-related illnesses, while approximately 1.2 million people acquire HIV. For the first time, more than half of all new HIV infections now occur outside sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting changing dynamics of the epidemic.

Against the backdrop of an unprecedented funding crisis, the conference will focus on the future of the global health architecture, equitable access to innovations in HIV prevention and treatment, strengthening community-led responses, and addressing the impact of criminalization, discrimination and social exclusion on the HIV response. As the host country, Brazil and the Latin American region will also receive particular attention, highlighting their experiences and the specific challenges they face.

"The International AIDS Conference is taking place at a moment when the global HIV response is facing one of its greatest challenges in decades. Scientific breakthroughs such as the long-acting HIV prevention medicine lenacapavir give us reason for hope – provided they reach those who need them most. Innovations that fail to reach the people who need them are not true innovations; they are a reflection of global inequality," says Tilman Rüppel, Spokesperson for Action against AIDS Germany.

"At the same time, we are witnessing a concerning shift in the HIV epidemic. For the first time since the beginning of the HIV pandemic, more than half of all new HIV infections occur outside sub-Saharan Africa. This shows that the epidemic is increasingly gaining momentum in regions where human rights are under pressure and community structures are often weakened. This is precisely why we need a strong UNAIDS with a clear mandate and well-defined responsibilities. Weakening UNAIDS as part of the ongoing UN reform process would send the wrong signal and seriously undermine the global HIV response," Rüppel adds.

According to UNAIDS, official development assistance for global health declined more sharply in 2025 than ever before. As a result, many countries have already experienced significant reductions in access to healthcare, HIV prevention and counselling services, and community-led health programmes.

"The remarkable progress achieved in the global HIV response, much of it supported through investments by the Global Fund, is now under immediate threat due to these funding cuts. These achievements were never the result of government action alone. They were driven by communities. People living with HIV and civil society organizations have pushed governments to act and have played a decisive role in expanding access to prevention, treatment and care. Undermining community-led responses through financial cuts means undermining the very foundation of these successes and putting decades of progress at risk," says Klaus Koch, Spokesperson for Action against AIDS Germany.

Action against AIDS Germany will be represented at the International AIDS Conference by Peter Wiessner and Johanna Fipp. Throughout the conference, they will provide regular updates on the most important developments from Rio de Janeiro.

We are also available for background briefings and media interviews.

Press Contact

Peter Wiessner

Action against AIDS Germany (Aktionsbündnis gegen AIDS e.V.)

wiessner@aktionsbuendnis-aids.de

Tel: +49 176 82 188 269 (WhatsApp)  

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International AIDS Conferences