[AIDS 2026] aidsmap: New US HIV agreements leave civil society and key populations on the sidelines
![[AIDS 2026] aidsmap: New US HIV agreements leave civil society and key populations on the sidelines](/api/imagekit?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eatg.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F02%2Ffgewqovtwby.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Activists protested at the AIDS 2026 conference against changes to US global HIV programs, specifically PEPFAR, accusing the government of disrupting essential health aid. Critics argue the new model undermines the mission and excludes key populations.
Why it matters
Changes to major global health initiatives like PEPFAR have direct consequences for HIV treatment access in developing nations.
The United States is “changing the model, not the mission” of its global HIV programmes, Jeff Graham, acting US Global AIDS Coordinator, told a pre-conference session organised by the US government at AIDS 2026 in Rio de Janeiro on 26 July.
Minutes into his presentation, activists took the stage chanting “You lie, people die, restore PEPFAR now.”
“The last 16 months have been a public health emergency caused by your government’s deadly disruptions in PEPFAR programming and global health aid, and we will not allow this fact to be erased,” Asia Russell, Executive Director of Health GAP, told Graham. “We will not allow our communities to be erased by your anti-science, anti-LGBTQ, anti-participation agenda.”
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