Put communities at centre of HIV response in Africa
This article argues that the future of HIV response in Africa requires a shift beyond just funding technology toward community-centered approaches. It highlights that trust and understanding are essential for the successful adoption of medical innovations like PrEP.
Why it matters
It emphasizes that public health interventions often fail due to social barriers like stigma and lack of trust rather than the efficacy of the medicine itself.
The future of HIV response depends on more than funding medicines and technologies. As governments take greater ownership of HIV programmes, they must also sustain a community centred approaches that have underpinned progress over the last four decades.
As the global HIV community gathers in Rio de Janeiro for the 2026 International AIDS Conference under the theme Rethink. Rebuild. Rise, we find ourselves at a defining moment.
Like never before, science has produced innovative HIV prevention tools with the potential to cut new HIV infections. Emergence of long-acting HIV prevention technologies, including long-acting injectable PrEP, marks another major milestone in the fight against the virus.
Yet new technologies only achieve public health impact when people trust them, can access them and choose to use them.
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