Solidarity makes science accessible for all - this is the roadmap for ending the AIDS epidemic
Activists and health experts at the 26th International AIDS Conference in Rio have protested against global funding cuts for HIV/AIDS programs. The demonstrations targeted the US administration's PEPFAR strategy, European government contributions, and pharmaceutical pricing policies.
Why it matters
Significant reductions in international funding for HIV/AIDS threaten to reverse decades of progress in global health and increase mortality rates in vulnerable regions.
Solidarity makes science accessible for all – this is the roadmap for ending the AIDS epidemic Attending the 26th International AIDS Conference in Rio, you could be forgiven for thinking it was two entirely different events.
Under the grand theme 'Rethink, Rebuild, Rise', one conference celebrated scientific breakthroughs and progress. The other was furious, frightened and determined to defy the dismantling of decades of work.
Jeff Graham, acting US Global AIDS Coordinator, took to the stage to outline the US administration's new brazenly titled "America First Global Health Strategy." He is the man responsible for PEPFAR – the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which has saved more than 26 million lives since 2003, which the Trump administration gutted in early 2025 , despite promises to protect life-saving care.
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