UNAIDS sat down with Anton Basenko, Executive Director of International Network for People who Use Drugs (INPUD) during the latest coordinating board meeting where Member States and partners discussed how people who inject drugs are disproportionately impacted by the HIV epidemic worldwide. 

In 2024, HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs reported was ten times higher than for the rest of the adult (15–49 years) population and people who inject drugs were estimated to be 34 times more likely to contract HIV than the general adult population. 

Q: How did you become an activist and advocate? 

A: I began using drugs as a teenager and started injecting when I was 16. Like millions of people around the world, I spent years avoiding healthcare not because I did not need it, but because healthcare did not feel safe.  

In 2002, Ukraine started to scale up the limited offer of harm reduction services. I did not go there because someone convinced me to seek treatment. I went to a drop-in centre run by Club Eney because I needed sterile injecting equipment. What I found there was much more than syringes. After almost 10 years of spending days looking for money, avoiding the police and buying drugs, I was in awe of the peer-led, peer-run place and realized, 'People care about me.' 

I had lost many friends and suffered many overdoses and lost my job so this outreach was like a miracle. That is where later, in 2023, I found out I was HIV+ and had Hepatitis C and needed treatment. I also qualified for opioid agonist therapy (OAT), which is another miracle. They were running a pilot programme at the time. Within months I transformed and regained confidence. So much so that when it was time to validate the pilot programme, I was asked to testify at the Ministry of Health Public Hearings. Wearing a tie and speaking about my experience, I overheard people from the opponents of the OAT group say afterwards, 'His outfit is too expensive and he looks too clean to be a real drug user,' which made me think that OAT definitely works and I clearly had convinced people from all sides during the meeting. 

Q: When is it that you really pushed for harm reduction services? 

A: In 2005, I went to the OAT site at the Kyiv Narcological Dispensary to get my daily dose of medicine and saw that the door was closed. I was in total shock and I felt all my hopes disappear. The majority of us were so afraid of withdrawal symptoms that we relapsed. Ukraine was in the midst of rolling out harm reduction and there had been a backlog. I was an emotional train wreck. Thank goodness the centre called us back a month and half later and I was able to get back on the medicine. It took me six months to get back on track. That experience taught me that policies are not written in isolation. They determine whether people live or die. They determine whether services remain open or disappear. And they determine whether communities are treated as partners—or as problems. Today, more than twenty years later, that lesson remains just as relevant. 

Q: Was that a turning point for you? 

A: It definitely motivated me and as of 2009 I volunteered and started working for a grassroots organisation in Kyiv as a peer-counselor at the OAT site. Slowly I left my marketing job and dedicated myself to the cause. At first, I worked for the Association of Substitution Therapy Advocates of Ukraine (ASTAU), and later joined the leading HIV CSO in EECA region, Alliance for Public Health. Feeling my commitment to invest my knowledge and motivation into the development of the global drug users’ rights movement and communities mobilisation, I co-founded Ukrainian Network of People who Use Drugs (VOLNa), contributed to the Eastern European Central Asian Network of People who Use Drugs (ENPUD), and worked for European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG.) I have also given a lot of speeches at AIDS and Harm Reduction conferences!  And after being on the board of INPUD, I was appointed as INPUD Executive Director in 2025.   

Q: INPUD's latest report ' The Human Costs of Policy Change: A World in Turmoil' documents the impact of recent funding cuts. What are they? 

A: We are witnessing needle and syringe programs closing or being severely reduced. A lack of access to harm reduction supplies spiked from 47% in 2025 to 64% in 2026, stigma and discrimination jumped from 60% to 77%, policing or criminalisation increased from 42% to 64%. For women who use drugs, the consequences have been even more severe, with reductions in gender-based violence services, child-friendly spaces and low-threshold treatment programs. As someone who has lived through HIV, hepatitis C, criminalisation and exclusion from healthcare, I know that people do not stop using drugs because services disappear. They simply disappear from services until they return with advanced HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis C, or... they DO not return at all. 

Q: What is your main call to action? 

A: The lesson is clear. Funding community-led harm reduction is not optional. It is one of the most cost-effective investments in the HIV response. We cannot end AIDS while allowing the organisations closest to affected communities to disappear. INPUD wants donors, partners, governments to protect and expand sustainable, direct and flexible funding for community-led organisations of people who use drugs and safeguard comprehensive harm reduction services, including needle and syringe programmes and opioid agonist therapy. Also know that the funding cuts collided with criminalisation and shrinking civic space which has been horrible. We must accelerate drug policy reform, including decriminalisation, as an essential structural intervention to end AIDS. 

Q: You keep hammering one message, what is it? 

A: Our message is simple: if communities disappear, the HIV response disappears with them. 

Q: And what are you proudest of?  

A: Professionally, I am very happy to have started harm reduction programmes in probation services. It has gone from a pilot programme to full scale in Ukraine and proud to mobilise the successful country drug users network, VOLNa, which unites more than 1,500 individual members and is a real driver of critical changes in Ukraine and EECA region. 

I am also very proud of my son who is now seven years old living free of HIV.  

UNAIDS advocates for harm reduction responses to be tailored to the realities of people who use drugs, recognizing that HIV risk and access are shaped by gender inequality, age, sexual orientation, incarceration, displacement and humanitarian crises. We must move away from criminal sanctions for drug use and possession for personal use and instead adopt public health and human-rights based approaches. Integrating harm reduction into national health systems and domestic financing frameworks will guarantee that essential services do not stop putting people’s lives at risk. Finally, UNAIDS believes in strengthening and protecting community leadership. Organizations led by people who use drugs must be able to register, operate and access funding freely.

AIDS 2026 will  be the first major global gathering following the UN General Assembly  High-Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS where countries came together and committed to new targets as part of efforts to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. 

The conference comes at a critical moment as these global commitments must translate into country-level implementation. Sustained political leadership is needed as well as and concrete financing commitments from both donors and countries most affected by HIV, particularly in a time of constrained resources. 

On the opening day of the conference (27 July), UNAIDS will be releasing a special report, United to End AIDS, which gives the latest data on HIV from 2025. 

UNAIDS will  focus its engagement on three strategic areas:          

• Supporting all countries to achieve the targets set out in the Global AIDS Strategy 2026-2031 and the 2026 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS
• Protecting HIV prevention and community-led services, particularly for key populations, women and girls, and young people.
• Mobilizing sustainable HIV financing, including maintaining international support and advancing domestic financing and transition planning.

EVENTS:

SATURDAY 25

Living 2026  Pre-conference - 08:00-17:00 

LIVING2026 is convened by GNP+ in partnership with the Prevention Access Campaign (PAC), marking ten years of Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U).

SUNDAY 26

Rethink, Rebuild, Rise - SRHR/HIV integration and community leadership in a new funding era - Room 103 / 14:00-15:00 

A powerful opening dialogue on the political context of the HIV response. Focusing on human rights, global equity, and the political courage needed to rethink and rebuild resilient health systems.

MONDAY 27

Making HIV elimination in the Americas a reality: Leadership, evidence, action - Room 204 / 11:30 – 12:30 

This symposium will present HIV elimination as an urgent public health priority and a realistic goal for the Americas. It will highlight country leadership and share lessons learned from applying evidence to policy and practice. The session will formally introduce the Alliance for the Elimination of HIV in the Americas, a regional platform created to accelerate progress toward 2030.

Opening press conference: Launch of UNAIDS special report – United to end AIDS - Press conference room / 14:00 – 15:00 

On the opening day of the 26th International Aids Conference in Rio de Janeiro, taking place from 27 to 31 July 2026, UNAIDS is releasing a new report showing the extent and impact of funding cuts and disruptions experienced in 2025 as well as global progress in the AIDS response. 

Women's networking Zone 2026 Opening ceremony - Global village / 15:00-16:30 

TUESDAY 28

A wake-up call for youth-led HIV responses: Are young people being left behind? – Youth pavilion / 13:00 – 14:00 

This panel discussion will bring together representatives from Y+ Global programmes and external partners to explore how youth-led responses to HIV are evolving in today's changing landscape. Panellists will reflect on the challenges facing youth-led organisations, examine what a truly inclusive and integrated response looks like, and highlight practical solutions to ensure young people remain at the centre of programme design, implementation, advocacy, and decision-making.

WEDNESDAY 29

Leadership at the tipping point: Protecting the gains and advancing progress in a new era of the HIV response – Room 201 / 10:30 – 11:30

This symposium will examine ways to balance global solidarity and national sovereignty in an evolving landscape that demands both. Speakers will discuss strategies to ensure that the urgent need to prioritize a renewed HIV response is met at all levels: within national budgets; through coordination at the regional level; and by bold investments into the architecture required to bring discovery to delivery.

Right to health - IAS Booth Global Village / 14:00 - 14:45

Right to Health event at the AIDS 2026 conference with incoming UN Special Rapporteur on the Right the Health Mariângela Simão and UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima

Leading for the future: Re-centering women, children, and adolescents as a pathway to sustained HIV epidemic control - Room 201 / 18:00-19:30 

This Symposium is about shaping the future we want — together. As Keynote Speaker, Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, will reflect on the leadership and collective commitment needed to build the future we want — in the spirit of the newly adopted UN Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS and with communities leading the way. 

THURSDAY 30

Global Inequality Council high-level meeting Ebola, AIDS, COVID and Beyond: Breaking the inequality-pandemic cycle, featuring Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz - Plenary room 101A / 10:30 – 11:30 

This session aims to frame HIV within the broader context of pandemics and inequality in particular, the relationship between inequality and pandemic risk, and the implications for global health architecture and financing. 

From Political Declaration to community action: Using the 2026 UN High-Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS as an advocacy tool - Room 101C / 16:30 – 17:30

This workshop will examine the outcomes of the 2026 UN High-Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS and explore what the new Political Declaration means for communities, advocacy, accountability and the future of the HIV response. Through keynote reflections, stakeholder presentations and interactive table discussions, participants will analyze how the Political Declaration can serve as a practical advocacy tool across countries and regions.  

FRIDAY 31

Political leadership matters: Renewing parliamentary action for the HIV response - Room 205 / 10:30-11:30

Following the UN High-Level Meeting, this session of the Global Parliamentary Platform on HIV and AIDS will demonstrate how parliamentary leadership can help rethink strategies, rebuild political momentum, and rise to future challenges in the global HIV response.

UNAIDS mourns the passing of Senator Lindsey Graham (R-NC), a United States Senator whose decades of public service were distinguished by an unwavering belief that American leadership in the global HIV response carries both strategic purpose and moral responsibility.  

UNAIDS extends our deepest condolences to Senator Graham’s family, friends, staff and colleagues, and to the people of North Carolina on his passing. 

Throughout his career in the Senate, Senator Graham recognized the importance of international cooperation and U.S. support for global efforts to fight HIV/AIDS and other global health challenges, reflecting his belief that such investments contribute to human well-being, security and global stability. 

In April 2023, Senator Graham played a leading role in a bipartisan push to reauthorize the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), saying, 

“We must come together once again to reauthorize PEPFAR and work to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Now is the time to remind the world what American leadership can accomplish when we put our minds and hearts to it.” 

https://www.boozman.senate.gov/2023/4/the-hill-american-generosity-has-saved-25-million-lives-and-counting-let-s-reauthorize-pepfar-now

As a steadfast supporter of PEPFAR, Senator Graham was a consistent advocate of U.S. leadership in the global HIV response, leading bipartisan Congressional political and financial support to advance one of the most successful global health initiatives in history. Through PEPFAR, the U.S. government has played a transformative role in the global HIV response, saving millions of lives around the world and preventing millions of new HIV infections. 

Senator Graham consistently worked across the aisle, helping to sustain unwavering bipartisan U.S. support for the global HIV response in the U.S. Congress for addressing global health and development challenges. He was a relentless advocate within the Republican party to ensure and maintain support for global health programs. 

As Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, Senator Graham supported robust U.S. funding for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, and global health security, recognizing the important role these investments play in advancing health and development outcomes globally. He knew the importance role health and development programs in creating safer and more stable environments around the world. 

Senator Graham’s legacy will be reflected in the transformative policies and programmes he supported, including his efforts to advance the global HIV response. His commitment to public service and bipartisan engagement contributed to global progress that has benefited countries and communities around the world. May his memory inspire bipartisan commitment for continued U.S. leadership in global efforts to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. 

UNAIDS Brazil and Africa Creative have been awarded a Bronze Lion in the Social & Creator category at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for the Cover It campaign (Proibidão Protegidão, in Brazilian Portuguese), which uses the popularity of Brazilian funk music to expand the conversation on HIV prevention. 

The award ceremony took place at the end of June in Cannes, France. The campaign was also shortlisted in the Audio & Radio and Media categories. 

Launched in April, the campaign uses Brazilian funk music, one of the ten most popular genres in Brazil, to strengthen HIV prevention messaging among young people which, according to Brazil's Ministry of Health  account for approximately 49% of all new HIV infections in the country. 

Brazilian funk is known for its explicit lyrics and strong connection to the urban peripheries and has a growing influence among Generation Z. Through a powerful visual campaign, UNAIDS and Africa Creative are bringing HIV prevention messages into a cultural space where sexuality is already openly expressed, but where information promoting autonomy, protection and informed choices about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is not always available. 

The campaign features some of Brazil's most popular funk tracks, including "Fazer Falta" by MC Livinho, with more than 230 million streams; "Flauta" by MC Mari, with over 10 million streams; "Vínculo Nenhum" by MC Davi, with more than 10 million streams; and "Empurra Empurra" by MC Drika, with more than 27 million streams. 

"Our partnership with UNAIDS is an example of advertising's public value. By bringing an issue into the public spotlight, the campaign demonstrates how creative ideas can raise awareness and inspire positive behavioural change," said Raphael Vandystadt, Vice President of Sustainability at Africa Creative.  

Often referred to as the "Oscars of Advertising," the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity recognizes outstanding campaigns, ideas, and innovations across communications, design, technology, and digital media.  

“This award highlights that HIV prevention and the protection of human rights are not only health issues, they are also communication issues that require messages tailored to different audiences. We must continue developing new ways of communicating if we are to achieve a comprehensive HIV response," said Andrea Boccardi Vidarte, UNAIDS Country Director and Representative in Brazil. 

UNAIDS’ campaigns have previously been recognized at the Cannes Lions Festival. In 2022, the campaigns "The Mirror – See Me As I Am" and "Unbox Me" received awards, with “Unbox Me” winning three Cannes Lions Awards. In 2023, Unbox Me was shortlisted once again and received three Spikes Asia Awards. The 2026 edition marks the first time that an initiative led by UNAIDS Brazil has been nominated at the Cannes Lions. 

Proibidão Protegidão campaign playlist

On 22-23 June 2026, UN Member States convened at the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting in New York to consider and agree a new Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS. The agreement sets out the global priorities, targets and actions that will guide the HIV response over the next five years and accelerate progress towards ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. 

The 2026 UN Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS was adopted by an overwhelming majority of Member States, with 149 votes in favour, 8 against and 14 abstentions. 

Note: References in parentheses (e.g. P60) refer to the corresponding paragraph numbers in the 2026 UN Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS. 

The following highlights the key aspects of the 2026 UN Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS:  

Topline Targets of the 2026 Political Declaration 

By adopting a new Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS that reflects the targets of UNAIDS’ Global AIDS Strategy 2026–2031, Member States endorsed new, bold commitments that, if fully achieved, will avert an additional 3.2 million new HIV infections and 1.3 million AIDS-related deaths by 2030.  

The 2026 Political Declaration includes all 16 of the 2030 targets contained in the Global AIDS Strategy 2026-2031, as well as additional new targets agreed by Member States. These targets include: 

• Treatment and prevention scale-up: Two critical, new global milestones: reaching 40 million people living with HIV with life-saving HIV treatment – including 38 million with a supressed viral load - (P60) and 20 million people with ARV-based prevention by 2030 (P57). 

• Reaffirming the 95-95-95 targets: Recommits to the 95-95-95 targets for HIV testing, treatment and viral suppression by 2030 (P61).
• Securing sustainable financing: A new global financing commitment of US$21.9 billion annually by 2030 (P48b), backed by explicit pledges to sustain domestic and international funding and minimize out-of-pocket health expenditures (P46).
• Ensuring the protection of human rights, including gender equality, and ending HIV-related stigma, discrimination and violence: A renewed commitment – with specific, measurable targets – to protect human rights, achieve gender equality, empower all women and girls and end HIV-related stigma, discrimination and violence (P73).
• Achieving the 2030 targets for rates of new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths:   A recommitment to a 90% reduction in new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths by 2030 (P90) – the agreed definition for ending AIDS as a public health threat after which countries can move from mitigating an epidemic to managing chronic disease - a different, more manageable, mission.  

Core Pillars of the 2026 Political Declaration 

1. Advancing people-centered HIV prevention and treatment for people living with, affected by or at risk of HIV 

• Comprehensive prevention: New, measurable target to ensure 90% of all people in need are reached with effective prevention options, including condoms, PrEP and harm reduction (P56).
• Explicit focus on key populations: Places greater, explicit emphasis on key populations across all areas of the HIV response, acknowledging that ending AIDS is impossible without reaching and empowering these communities (P58).
• Gender equality, empowering women and girls: Reaffirms the structural necessity of reaching women and girls with comprehensive education and fulfilling all human rights for women and girls, including their sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights (P59).
• Eliminating vertical transmission: Includes bold targets to achieve the elimination of vertical transmission of HIV and to end pediatric AIDS and ensures comprehensive care for women and children living with HIV (P69). 

2.  Community leadership, equity and rights 

• Empowering communities: Formally reinforces community-led responses by committing to expanded social contracting and community-led monitoring supported by increased funding. Also calls for institutionalizing the 30-80-60 targets for community-delivered services (P94).
• Protecting civic space and human rights: Newly commits to enabling a civic space for civil society and recommits to the 10-10-10 targets calling for the lifting of HIV-related stigma and discrimination, punitive legal barriers and violence against women and key populations (P73). 

3. Access to medicines, integration and accountability  

• Access to medicines and technology Transfer: Commits to ensuring the global accessibility, availability and affordability of quality-assured HIV medicines, diagnostics, vaccines and other essential health technologies through tailored technical assistance and technology transfer (P85), while also supporting the rapid scale-up of innovations, including long-acting formulations (P68).
• Integration: Introduces an ambitious integration agenda with new targets for integrating HIV services into maternal, child, and sexual/reproductive health services, alongside integrated HIV/TB services to sharply reduce TB-related deaths (P65).
• Scientific discovery: Outlines a full agenda and commitment to advance long-term scientific research for an HIV vaccine and a cure (P51).
• Data and accountability: Commits to strengthening disaggregated data and accountability systems at country level, including through investment in community-led monitoring (P54). 

4. Financing the Future of the HIV Response 

• Scaling-up sustainable financing: Commits to mobilize $21.9 billion annually by 2030 for HIV in low- and middle-income countries (P48b), through predictable, adequate and diversified funding from domestic and international sources (P48).
• Closing critical funding gaps: Prioritizes fully financing HIV prevention and societal enablers, recognizing that prevention is essential to ending AIDS (P49), and strengthens HIV financing for community-led responses (P54, P94).
• Strengthening domestic investment and transition: Supports sustainable financing models to enable a gradual shift toward domestic funding without disrupting services, with reduction of out-of-pocket expenditures and advancement of universal health coverage, and promotion of national health sovereignty (P50). 

5. Renewed Support for Multilateralism 

• International Partners: The 2026 Political Declaration recognizes the leading role played by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in coordination, technical cooperation, monitoring and support to national AIDS responses over the last 30 years (P9a), as well as achievements of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Unitaid and their partners in financing the implementation of country-led HIV responses (P9b).
• Annual Reporting and HLM 2031: Commits Member States to submit annual progress reports to UNAIDS, using robust, disaggregated data to pinpoint gaps in service coverage and HIV response outcomes (P97), and convene the next UNGA high-level meeting in 2031 to review progress (P100). 

Brazilian LGBTQIA+ organizations participating in the Pride Parade, led by the São Paulo LGBT Pride Association (APOLGBT-SP), have called for universal access to lenacapavir. The twice yearly long-acting injectable medication is considered one of the most significant innovations in HIV prevention and treatment. Lenacapavir has demonstrated nearly 100% efficacy in preventing HIV. 

These organizations are stressing that the anticipated high cost of the antiretroviral drug could prevent its incorporation into Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS), potentially deepening inequalities and undermining the country’s response to the HIV epidemic.  

“One of our priorities is to foster discussion around crucial scientific innovations such as lenacapavir, ensuring that it reaches those who need it most,” said Nelson Matias Pereira, President of APOLGBT-SP. 

The public manifesto emphasizes that access to health, science, and prevention technologies is a fundamental human right. It also warns about the disproportionate impact of the epidemic on historically marginalized populations, including gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender people, sex workers, and other key populations that have long faced social vulnerability.  

According to data from Brazil’s Ministry of Health, published in the 2025 HIV and AIDS Epidemiological Bulletin, Brazil recorded a 21.9% increase in new HIV infections between 2014 and 2024. According to UNAIDS, in Latin America, new HIV infections increased by 13% between 2010 and 2024, with approximately 120,000 new HIV infections reported in 2025 alone. An estimated 66% of these cases occurred among key populations and their sexual partners.  

The signatories of the manifesto also note that Brazil was one of the countries that participated in the lenacapavir clinical trials, yet the country was excluded from voluntary licensing agreements that would allow the production of more affordable generic versions of the product.  

“It is unacceptable that Brazil, which directly contributed to the clinical trials of this medication through Brazilian individuals and communities, has been excluded from voluntary licensing agreements and remains hostage to prices that make its incorporation into the SUS unfeasible.  We cannot accept commercial barriers and patent restrictions that hinder access to HIV prevention and treatment,” said Mr Pereira.  

For Federal Congresswoman Duda Salabert reason more to advocate for full lenacapavir access through the health system.  “Patents play an important role in science, but there are moments in history when they must be weighed against a greater collective good through the public interest. The issue, of course, is the price,” she said. “I reject the idea that someone should be unable to live because they cannot afford treatment. That is why our office has taken up this cause and will continue fighting for access through the SUS,” added Ms Salabert. 

The manifesto is calling for urgent action from Gilead Sciences and Brazil’s Ministry of Health. Their demands include:  

• Continued access to lenacapavir for Brazilian participants in clinical studies; 
• Immediate inclusion of Brazil in voluntary licensing agreements; 
• Transparency in pricing negotiations; 
• Pricing that is compatible with the long-term sustainability of the SUS; 
• Meaningful participation of the most affected communities in decision-making processes; and 
• Consideration of compulsory licensing should patent-related barriers and excessive pricing persist.  

They also want the Ministry of Health to commission studies by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) on the feasibility of public production of lenacapavir and other long-acting technologies for HIV prevention and treatment.  

Despite more than two decades of medical practice under her belt, Bouchra Assarag still revels going out in the field.  

“The blind spots are women and girls especially in rural areas,” the Moroccan doctor said. She commended the Moroccan government for advancing on sexual and reproductive health and the low HIV incidence rate (0.08% among general population.) However she tirelessly leads workshops for parents and young people in the far reaches of her native Northern African country.  

“My fight is not over,” she said insisting on not calling her a doctor but an activist. “For one child marriages are still occurring as families use legal loopholes, citing tradition and cultural practices.” In Morocco, 14% of girls marry before their 18th birthday, according to the non-governmental organization, Child Marriage Monitoring Mechanism.  

As president of “Ensemble pour les droits à la santé sexuelle et reproductive,” EDSSR, (Together for the Right to Sexual and Reproductive Health) an organization that defends sexual health and rights in Morocco and Francophone Africa, a big portion of the work involves reaching and educating vulnerable populations. 

“I don’t criticize anyone and am very sensitive to everyone’s plight like economic pressures and feeding one’s family, but my message stays the same,” Ms Assarag said. “The more you educate young people, the healthier they will be. Health is a human right.”  

Driving long distances to remote areas does not dissuade her and she adjusts her ways. “They see me as coming from the big city of Casablanca so even I need to be mindful and extremely cautious about this for the various activities to work, communication is key,” she explained. 

Adding to the organization's woes is the amount of misinformation being distributed on the internet and on social media. "Young people in Morocco and, I think, around the world, fear judgement so instead of asking the health worker or family about a condom, they bury themselves in social media,” she said. “It’s a catastrophe especially as anti-sexual education campaigns tend to go viral.” 

The Global AIDS Strategy 2026-2031 states that prevention of sexual transmission of HIV is closely linked to efforts to avoid unintentional pregnancies and acquisition of other sexually transmitted infections. Key to ending AIDS is upholding the rights of women and girls and reducing the inequalities that drive the epidemic.  

“Service uptake and impact tend to be higher when HIV prevention is embedded in broader sexual and reproductive health services, is free from stigma and supported by community leadership,” said Mary Mahy, Director of Data for Impact and a co-writer of the latest UNAIDS report, ‘United to End AIDS.’ 

UNAIDS Country Director Houssine El Rilhani commends Ms Assarag’s work. "Tailored community outreach, comprehensive sexuality education and rights-based sexual and reproductive health services are essential to sustain progress and ensure that populations living in rural or underserved areas get the attention and services they deserve.”  

Ms Assarag has added another initiative to her long resumé. 

Her organization has joined forces with the Moroccan Ministry of Health and Social Protection in putting together workshops around menstrual pain. “Again, we were faced with the same issues ranging from cultural taboo and a complete lack of information despite this affecting many women and girls,” she said.    

Fighting injustices has motivated her from a young age. She remembers not understanding why her neighbour stayed with her husband despite him physically abusing her. She was also witness to stigma and discrimination as a young medical doctor when sex workers came in to be treated. “I am so grateful that the head doctor, my mentor, inspired me and showed great compassion to all, without prejudice or discrimination.” 

Her current worry now is making sure that trained future health care workers can tackle the many health inequities. “In addition to the Master’s programme in Public Health, the training of health professionals within institutions in Morocco now includes modules on sexual and reproductive health, so I am optimistic,” she explains. Her teaching in these institutions places human rights and gender at the core of the curriculum. 

“I stress autonomy for all and equality for men and women,” she said. 

Three years ago, Adjovi Husunukpe co-founded the Western and Central African HIV+ Youth Network (RAJ+AOC) to connect with her peers and strengthen youth-led advocacy in the HIV response. “We wanted to be heard at a national and international level as one,” she said.   

The network known for its top-notch community outreach and linkage to care now has nearly 500 members across 14 countries but has hit some recent roadblocks.  

“We are all volunteers and are scraping by financially so it’s hard to project ourselves as individuals and as an organization,” said the Togolese born Ms Husunukpe. 

2025 saw a steep decrease in funding which specially affected community-led organizations. That meant a number of things for RAJ+AOC. They have to compete with other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for financial support but are not considered equally.  

“People keep saying we are not legitimate because we are young people, which is unfair and untrue,” she said.  

On top of that, she said, HIV prevention and hard-fought youth-oriented programmes seem to have disintegrated into thin air. UNAIDS June Global AIDS report states that community-led organizations are often the last organizations to be funded by domestic resources and consequently have been some of the first to experience the impact of the 2025 international funding cuts. 

Adding to her worries may also be the loss of technical support from UNAIDS as country offices merge in the region.  

“We keep being told that we represent 60% of the population of the African continent but our sustainability hangs in the balance,” Ms Husunukpe said. 

Having been born with HIV and lost her parents at a young age, the 27-year-old argues that lived experience should be recognized as expertise. She and other youth leaders call for youth-led organizations to be meaningfully integrated into health policy and decision-making spaces. 

“We are invited to speak but are rarely included in drafting recommendations or shaping decisions,” the sociology student said. “Let us co-lead initiatives that respond to our real needs.” 

UNAIDS Regional HIV and Public Health Adviser, Ange-Valérie Meralli-Ballou, based in Dakar, said the data is clear. In 2025, 160,000 adolescent girls and young women acquired HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, 35% of all child HIV infections now occur in western and central Africa. Most of these infections are attributable to limited access to integrated sexual and reproductive health and rights services for youth and pregnant women. "We cannot continue to exclude the majority of the population and expect results," she said. 

In her mind, youth-led NGOs are not only willing but structurally positioned to integrate health systems if given the money and decision-making powers to do so. 

The Global AIDS Strategy 2026-2031 calls for promoting the creation and integration of community health centres, managed by local actors and community organizations in the region. It also strongly encourages countries to conduct communication campaigns using social media to raise HIV awareness. 

Pointing outside to young people gathered on a staircase with her outstretched right hand, Ms Meralli-Ballou said, “This strategy is a political tool or a roadmap if you will so let us use it to leverage resources, sustain youth engagement and agency, and build that future now.” 

History was made in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa on Friday, 5 June, as 21-year-old Jane Mndebele became the first person to receive lenacapavir, the twice-yearly HIV prevention injectable, as part of the country's new national prevention programme. 

"I am excited," she said, after the injection was administered by Health Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi himself. Her words captured the mood of thousands gathered at Lilian Ngoyi Stadium in Secunda, and of a global health community that has waited years for this moment.

South Africa, home to the world's largest HIV epidemic with an estimated 7.9 million people living with the virus, officially launched the national rollout of lenacapavir, becoming the ninth African country to do so. 

"The launch of lenacapavir marks a turning point in our nation's fight against HIV. It represents the triumph of science over despair. It represents the power of innovation to save lives," said President Cyril Ramaphosa. He was careful, however, to frame the injection as one tool among many. "It is one more powerful tool in our arsenal. It complements HIV testing, oral PrEP, treatment as prevention, condoms, voluntary medical male circumcision, and behavioural interventions."

Lenacapavir is a powerful new option, but it works best as part of a broader package. UNAIDS stresses that the injection must be integrated alongside condoms, family planning, sexual and reproductive health services, and community-based HIV prevention programmes. Evidence from programmes such as DREAMS has shown that when HIV prevention is combined with education, economic opportunity, protection from violence, and safe spaces for young women, the results are transformative. UNAIDS data shows that girls who complete secondary education have a 50% lower risk of HIV infection.

The stakes are stark. South Africa recorded approximately 150,000 new HIV infections in 2024, with women and girls accounting for 59% of those. Over 71,000 were among adolescent girls and young women aged 15 to 24, equivalent to more than 1,000 newly infected young women every week. The government's decision to prioritise this group in the rollout of lenacapavir is both welcome and significant.

Alankar Malviya, UNAIDS Multi-Country Director for South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini, welcomed the commitment. "President Ramaphosa has demonstrated political will to continue on a path to transform the HIV response. We welcome the prioritisation of adolescent girls and young women, men who have sex with men, sex workers and people who use drugs," he said, adding that UNAIDS welcomes ongoing discussions between Gilead Sciences and the government to explore local generic production.

For UNAIDS, the launch is both a milestone and a call to action. "Today is a day many of us here in South Africa have waited for," said Anne Githuku-Shongwe, UNAIDS Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa. "For many of us who have worked in the HIV response, this moment feels almost unimaginable. Now we must make sure that this breakthrough does not become another example of scientific success and implementation failure."

The rollout begins at 360 public health facilities across six provinces and 24 high-burden districts, with a national target to reach close to one million people by end of 2027, and three million within three years. A combined investment of R1.3 billion from the Global Fund and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, alongside government funding, will support the programme. Generic versions of lenacapavir are expected from 2027 at around USD 40 per person per year, a dramatic reduction from the tens of thousands of dollars charged in high-income countries, though affordability at scale remains a challenge for many countries facing shrinking health budgets.

For now, Jane Mndebele and the thousands of South Africans who will follow her to clinics in the coming weeks represent something real and hard-won: proof that with political courage, community partnership, and sustained investment, scientific progress can be made to serve the people who need it most.

More than 20 years ago, when Seum Sophal learned he was living with HIV, he saw little reason for hope. Stigma was widespread and treatment options were limited. 

“I was ready to die,” he recalled. “I was worried about what would happen to my young son after I was gone.” 

Today, Mr Sophal, an officer with the Forum of Networks of People Living with HIV and Key Populations (FoNPAMs) at the Health Action Coordinating Committee (HACC), speaks with pride and emotion about Cambodia’s achievement of the 95–95–95 HIV treatment targets. 

For him, the achievement is not only a national triumph, but also recognition of the years of work and commitment invested by communities, including his own.  

It also reflects on the success of a partnership in which each actor took responsibility and delivered: the government expanded access to HIV testing and treatment, communities reached the people most affected by HIV and helped improve services, and international partners provided technical and financial support. 

Together, these efforts have brought Cambodia to achieve the 95–95–95 targets: 95% of people living with HIV know their status, 95% of those diagnosed are receiving antiretroviral treatment and 95% of people on treatment have achieved viral suppression. 

Mr Sophal’s own contribution began shortly after his diagnosis, when he started volunteering with Salvation Centre Cambodia, a local organization providing home-based support to people living with HIV. 

“I went from home to home, encouraging people to get tested, start treatment and remain in care,” he said. 

At a time when stigma and fear prevented many people from seeking health services, community workers provided information, accompanied people to clinics and helped families cope with the practical and emotional effects of HIV. Mr Sophal believes that timely community support helped many people survive. 

He has also seen that support continues across generations. Children assisted by the organization more than 20 years ago are now adults, and some have become volunteers themselves. 

“It is community support passed from one generation to the next,” he said. 

The contribution of communities to the 95-95-95 targets has extended beyond helping individuals access services. Community representatives have brought people’s experiences to health workers and decision-makers, challenged discriminatory treatment and advocated for practical changes in the way services are delivered. 

Community feedback has contributed to longer clinic opening hours, peer counselling, multi-month dispensing of antiretroviral medicines and more accessible testing options. These changes have made it easier for people to start treatment and remain in care while managing work and family responsibilities. 

Mr Sophal is also proud of community advocacy to strengthen social protection for people living with HIV. 

Although HIV treatment in Cambodia is free, poverty, unstable employment, food insecurity and the cost of travelling to health facilities is still challenging.  

Community organisations have advocated for eligible people living with HIV to be connected to Cambodia’s IDPoor system- which identifies and registers households living in poverty. Those who qualify can receive Equity Cards, providing access to free public healthcare through the Health Equity Fund, as well as cash transfers and other forms of social assistance. 

However, Cambodia’s achievement does not mean that the HIV epidemic is over.  

“This achievement is a source of national pride, but it also comes with responsibility,” said Ieng Mouly, Senior Minister and Chair of the National AIDS Authority. “Our task now is to protect and sustain this progress through stronger country ownership and increased domestic investment in the national HIV response.” 

Cambodia’s 95-95-95 announcement comes at a critical time for the global HIV response. The UNAIDS Global AIDS Brief, released on 12 June 2026, warns that cuts in external financing, underinvestment in HIV prevention and community-led services, and growing restrictions on human rights and civic space could reverse hard-won gains. 

Community-led organizations are under particular financial pressure.  

“As external resources become more uncertain, protecting these gains will require sustained political leadership and investment in the fundamental elements of a multisectoral and collaborative HIV response,” said Patricia Ongpin, UNAIDS Country Director for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia and Viet Nam.  

Mr Sophal welcomes the Cambodian Government’s growing investment in the HIV response, but says a sustainable mechanism is also needed to fund community organizations from domestic resources. Social contracting - through which the government finances community groups to deliver agreed services - could help protect the outreach, trust and local knowledge that contributed to Cambodia’s achievement.  

“As the first country in Asia and the Pacific to achieve the 95-95-95 targets, Cambodia sends a clear message to the region and the world: ending AIDS is possible when governments work closely with communities and keep people at the center of the response” said Eamonn Murphy, UNAIDS Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.  

For Mr Sophal, to end AIDS, the response needs to focus on the people who remain most affected by HIV. 

“If I were addressing heads of state at the United Nations General Assembly, I would ask them to remain focused on key populations,” he said. “They are among the people most affected by HIV and must not be left behind. If we protect their health and rights, we can end AIDS. My second message would be: continue investing in communities.”