This year’s World Health Summit will be held in Berlin, Germany from 11 to 13 October under the theme: From Crisis to Resilience: Innovating for Health. At the Summit UNAIDS will share its knowledge and expertise in the future of the HIV response, global health financing, pandemic preparedness and inequalities that are preventing progress.  

The World Health Summit 2026 takes place at a critical moment. In June, countries adopted a new Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, reaffirming the goal to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. The focus now must shift from political commitment to implementation.  

This year has seen a sequence of major milestones, including the High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS, AIDS 2026 and UNGA81. Together, these events and commitments have helped draw from the AIDS response to further debates on equitable financing, health sovereignty, pandemic preparedness, resilience and the future of multilateral cooperation. It also coincides with a pivotal moment for the future of the UNAIDS and its transformation.  

UNAIDS objectives at the World Health Summit:

• Stress that AIDS is not over and that a broad, multisectoral coalition is needed to turn commitments into action to save lives and end AIDS by 2030
• Draw on the lessons from the HIV response to address broader global health challenges and future pandemics
• Ensure a considered and safe transition to country ownership of HIV responses that ‘does no harm’ to people living with and affected by HIV
• Emphasise the critical importance of maintain and building community-based and community-led services to respond to HIV and other health emergencies

EVENTS 

Sunday 11 October

9:00-10:30
Global health architecture reform: From recommendations to action at the regional and country levels  

This session focuses on what reform looks like from the regional and country level. The discussion will explore "what's actually changing" and "what's next". The session draws on experiences from countries, regional institutions, funders, and global actors to examine whether a more regionalised approach can make global health cooperation more responsive, coherent, and accountable.

11:00-12.30
Advancing equitable, person-centred HIV prevention and care in Europe

This side event, co-organized by the International AIDS Society (IAS) and AIDS action Europe, will highlight how person-centred, community-led HIV prevention and care informed by lived experience can reshape and redefine service delivery and related policies. It will reinforce why community-led systems must be recognized and resourced as integral to public health delivery.

 At a time of shifting global financing priorities and growing pressure on health systems, the event will provide a platform for exchange on enabling policies and examples of person-centred HIV programming to expand access to HIV testing, prevention, care and related services for people living with HIV and populations vulnerable to HIV acquisition.

 
Monday 12 October

11:00-12:00
Long-acting innovation, lasting impact: Advancing the global HIV response 

The discussion will feature Mark Dybul, former Executive Director of the Global Fund and former U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator leading PEPFAR, who will share an exclusive preview of Rockefeller-funded economic modelling from Imperial College London and Georgetown University examining the potential impact of accelerating the rollout of long-acting PrEP for populations at higher risk of acquiring HIV across high-, middle- and low-income settings. The event will also explore barriers to countries and at-risk populations accessing long-acting HIV prevention and treatment options, with a particular focus on regulatory, financing and supply chain challenges, with a deep dive into the unique barriers faced by middle-income countries and regions.
 
14:00-15:30
G7 and G20: Fit for future global health challenges? 

The G7 and G20 have played a pivotal role in shaping global health agendas. Through their convening power, they have translated shared priorities into coordinated responses, have mobilized resources and fostered tangible political action.  

This session will examine where both fora stand today, how they interact with another, and whether the G7 and G20 remain fit-for-purpose to advance global health priorities: Should they be adapted to continue driving effective global health action in an increasingly multipolar world?  
 
14:00-15:30
RoundTable discussion - Resilience in the HIV response: From innovation to impact 

Aligning with this year’s Summit theme of resilience and innovation, this special session will be a roundtable discussion with a facilitated conversation between legislators and experts, focused on policy leadership in the HIV response. Discussions will cover the latest innovations in the HIV response and the role of legislators in driving implementation; how to build resilience into public health systems; sustainable financing; and the necessary political priorities to ensure the HIV response delivers equitable public health outcomes for key populations.
 
18.00-19.30
World Health Summit signature event: “From crisis to resilience: Innovating for health”

How can global health move from a crisis response to lasting resilience and turn shared ambition into concrete action? The World Health Summit 2026 Signature Event will bring together global leaders, multilateral institutions, youth voices and partners in philanthropy and innovation to explore the political choices, institutional changes, and innovations needed to deliver better health for all. 

 

Tuesday 13 October

09:00-10:30 
Safeguarding the global HIV response in a changing multilateral environment 

This workshop brings together donors, policymakers, civil society and UN system representatives. Looking ahead, the session will consider what lessons the UNAIDS experience may offer for wider multilateral reform efforts, such as the UN80 reform process, particularly how institutions can work in a more efficient and coordinated manner, while increasing specialization, legitimacy, accountability and responsiveness including to communities and CSOs.

Not too long ago, across Madagascar, in regions facing severe drought and extreme poverty, some young girls were in dire straits, unable to buy basic necessities, some-times having to exchange unprotected sex for commodities as commonplace as a single tomato. 

For many years, Madagascar's HIV response was focused primarily on key populations including men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who use drugs and prisoners. But on the ground, warning signs were emerging that the picture was changing. 

"We began seeing clear indications that the epidemic was no longer confined to traditionally defined key populations but was increasingly affecting bridge populations and the wider community," said Jude Padayachy, Secretary of State, Ministry of Health, Seychelles and former UNAIDS Country Director for Madagascar, Seychelles and Comoros. 

By 2024, Madagascar had recorded a 151% increase in new HIV infections since 2010. At the same time, HIV treatment coverage remained at just 24%, among the lowest in the region and far below UNAIDS' target of 95%. Weak surveillance systems, low HIV prevention and limited capacity to test for HIV meant that the country did not have a clear picture about the true scale and changing nature of the epidemic. 

Changing the response required better surveillance and service delivery, but also political leadership and commitment and the willingness to challenge assumptions that had shaped the HIV response for years. "Overcoming the initial resistance to shift our strategic approach required robust evidence and persistent dialogue," said Mr Padayachy. 

Over several years, UNAIDS worked alongside the Government of Madagascar, communities, civil society organizations and development partners to strengthen surveillance systems, improve data collection and build a stronger evidence-base to inform the decision-making. 

"UNAIDS played a vital role in helping Madagascar strengthen the evidence-base for our HIV response and foster dialogue around this evidence," said Norosa Rakotoherimora, Programme Manager, STI and HIV Control, Ministry of Health, Madagascar. 

Then came a critical turning point. 

In 2026, new data revealed that HIV prevalence among pregnant women attending antenatal care services had reached 1.1%. This is above the 1% threshold that signals a generalized epidemic. The finding was a powerful signal that HIV transmission was reaching beyond the populations traditionally at the centre of Madagascar's response. The young girls exchanging unprotected sex for a single tomato were outside of the picture the HIV response had been built around. The epidemic could no longer be understood only through the lens of key populations. 

The new evidence transformed the national conversation. It created an opportunity to bring the next National Strategic Plan in line with the reality of the epidemic, including expanding HIV prevention efforts, strengthening community action, increasing access to testing for HIV and engaging sectors far beyond health. 

The new evidence is also influencing conversations with international partners, including The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as Madagascar's HIV response is increasingly considered as a more widespread epidemic. 

While the story is not yet over, the country has a clearer picture of the challenge it faces and a stronger basis for how it responds. 

Madagascar's experience shows how data combined with sustained advocacy, leadership and political commitment, can change how a country understands its epidemic, how it responds and ultimately, how many lives it can save. 

Today, UNAIDS no longer has a country office in Madagascar, however, that did not end its support. The UNAIDS Regional Support Team for East and Southern Africa has kept the work going, continuing to provide technical support and helping to ensure the HIV response follows the evidence. 

At a special ceremony during the 63rd Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Directing Council, Brazil, the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands were recognized for achieving milestones towards eliminating vertical transmission of HIV, underscoring the Americas' growing leadership in ending new HIV infections among children.  

“Today we celebrate an achievement that reflects the best of our region: the ability to transform political commitment, evidence and cooperation into concrete results for people’s health,” said PAHO Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa. 

The achievements recognized include: 

• Brazil—validated in December 2025 for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV, becoming the world’s most populous country to achieve this milestone.
• The Bahamas—certified in April 2026 for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
• Turks and Caicos Islands—certified in June 2026 for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and hepatitis B, becoming the first territory in the Americas to achieve the latter milestone. 

The achievements add to a long history of leadership by the Americas in disease elimination. 

“UNAIDS is proud of the progress across the Americas in eliminating vertical transmission of HIV,” said Dr Angeli Achrekar, Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS, who attended the ceremony. “PAHO’s recognition of Brazil, the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands signals bold progress towards ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.” 

During the recent United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS, Member States adopted a bold new Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS, which commits them to ‘prioritize and urgently accelerate the elimination of vertical transmission of HIV’. 

These milestones are part of the broader Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV Plus Initiative, which aims to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and congenital Chagas disease across Latin America and the Caribbean. Implemented in collaboration with UNICEF and UNAIDS, the initiative is embedded within PAHO’s Elimination Initiative, a regional effort to eliminate more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions in the Americas by 2030.