We are more than halfway to the 2030 deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include ending AIDS as a public health threat. Achievements have been significant, but so are the challenges that remain on the road ahead.

As the 2023 UNAIDS Global AIDS Update states, the path to achieving the SDGs and ending the HIV pandemic is not a mystery but a choice. Achieving the SDGs, however, requires a fully funded and targeted response. Not least, the abortion debate in the US surrounding PEPFAR’s reauthorization and the upcoming US election cycle could have significant implications for financing and political commitment towards the HIV response.

Data is from the 2023 UNAIDS Global AIDS Update

Against this backdrop, below are some of the key areas around which the IAS will convene, advocate and educate this year. All of our activities seek to pool the power of science, policy and activism because this is how we, together, will end the HIV pandemic as a threat to public health and individual well-being. 

Promoting the latest research

Besides the IAS making the latest science available at our conferences, the Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS) publishes research in areas that require urgent action. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, JIAS will launch three supplements at AIDS 2024: “Implementation research and the HIV response: Taking stock and charting the way forward”; “Re-shaping landscapes to support embedded programme science to improve population-level impact for HIV and sexually transmitted infections programming: A call for transformative action”; and “The HIV epidemic in eastern Europe and central Asia: challenges and opportunities”.

We also continue to push for research in paediatric HIV to close the knowledge gaps that, worryingly, remain for this most vulnerable population group. The Collaborative Initiative for Paediatric HIV Education and Research (CIPHER) will update the global research agenda for paediatric HIV and the global research agenda for adolescents living with HIV by the end of the year.

Upholding human rights and putting people first

By every available measure, human rights have deteriorated across much of the world over the past two decades. Recent examples are a widespread attack on LGBTQ rights, including harsh laws being passed in Uganda, and the overturning of abortion rights (Roe v Wade) in the US.

In a world plagued by inequity, putting people first across all aspects of the HIV response is not just a moral imperative but the only viable route to progress. Whether in the design of clinical trials, the formulation of policies or any other aspect of our efforts, people living with and affected by HIV must be not just beneficiaries but actors driving our efforts.

The IAS–Lancet Commission on Health and Human Rights will this year release actionable recommendations in eight domains, aiming to renew and update the paradigm of health and human rights.

Via our Heart of Stigma programme, the IAS will develop a self-assessment tool for countries to track progress, a webinar series and peer-to-peer learning exchange visits to eliminate HIV-related stigma and discrimination. If your healthcare provider is delivering stigma-free HIV services, you can nominate them as a champion in our Me and My Healthcare Provider Campaign.

Improving access

As global inequities grow, so does the challenge of access to care, knowledge and resources – without which the HIV response is bound to fail.  

To ensure that the knowledge shared at our conferences reaches not just those able to access it, the IAS Educational Fund will hold free, local language meetings in Burundi, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tunisia, as well as the Caribbean and eastern Europe and central Asia regions. These meetings convene local stakeholders to critically examine the latest science, resources and know-how against local needs and develop action plans to improve the HIV response in their regions.

AIDS 2024 and HIVR4P 2024 will once again provide support for thousands, who could otherwise not afford it, to attend. Find out more here. As always, the International AIDS Conference Global Village, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, will be free and open to the public.

Beyond attending an IAS conference, there are many ways to engage with the IAS and become an IAS change maker across our range of fellowship, grant, mentorship and scholarship opportunities.

To make our resources available for everyone, our new knowledge platform, IAS+, hosts all IAS digital content, including e-learning courses. You will be able to access everything on our conference platform on IAS+ two months after each conference for free (and just one month if you are an IAS Member).

We look forward to working with you in 2024 and getting our progress towards the SDGs back on track.