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Daily Digest: Tuesday, 28 July

Bom dia, gente! The AIDS 2026 poster exhibition, featuring more than 2,400 posters, opens today, covering the latest science and innovations across the HIV response.

Quick links

Online programme Virtual platform Conference website

Coming up today

Convert to your time zone through the AIDS 2026 programme. All times in the programme are in Brasilia Time (BRT).

08:30

Rethink. Rebuild. Rise. is the theme of AIDS 2026 and the title of the first plenary. Find out about delivering HIV services during transition, the state of the bNAbs field, and how culture, media and behaviour shape the pandemic. The session concludes with the awarding of the IAS/ANRS MIE Lange/van Tongeren Prizes for Young Investigators.

10:00

To develop your writing skills and learn how to turn research into clear, compelling papers for peer-reviewed journals, stop by the workshop, “How to write and submit a research manuscript”.

Also, brush up your skills on gender-transformative and human rights advocacy for the Global Fund’s Grand Cycle 8.

10:30

In a symposium, explore bioengineering strategies that take us to the cutting edge of synthetic immunology, from engineered T-cell therapies and gene-edited immune cells to novel delivery platforms that “block and lock” or “shock and kill” the HIV reservoir. Also, learn how evidence is being translated into pregnancy, breastfeeding and paediatric care.

Find out how community-led monitoring can keep communities at the centre of accountability, even in environments marked by political conservatism, the anti-rights backlash and restricted civic spaces. Last, but not least, examine ways to move away from stigma.

Oral abstract sessions focus on structural drivers of HIV outcomes, including the impact of funding withdrawal, as well as responsible use of AI in HIV prevention and care and updates about HIV treatment in “ARTistic strategies 1”.

12:00

Satellite sessions start at 12:00, 13:30 and 18:00. At 12:00, ViiV Healthcare focuses on the power of peer support for HIV care now and in the future. And at 13:30, Gilead Sciences explores how stronger partnerships can accelerate progress in HIV prevention.

In workshops, explore the need for more sustainable approaches to fund sex worker-led HIV responses and how to align evidence on HIV transmission during breastfeeding with policies and clinical practice in Latin America and the Caribbean.

14:30

Workshops tackle some of the most persistent challenges for the HIV response. Delve into how key population-sensitive prevention, testing, treatment and care can be sustained in the current crisis. “Where stigma ends, care begins” offers solutions from communities and frontline providers in Brazil on mitigating stigma.

15:00

What stories and angles will the media be looking for? How can advocates, researchers and communities ensure that their stories reach global audiences? Find out as journalists discuss HIV reporting in a “brave new world”.

Sessions also take a close look at migration and fragmented access to HIV prevention and treatment, and the economics and costs of implementation of HIV prevention and treatment.

“No retreat, no surrender: The future of philanthropy in HIV” explores how philanthropic funders are rethinking their business models and accountability to communities. The future of long-acting and curative therapies comes into view, and “Demedicalizing PrEP” suggests that implementation strategies for oral PrEP could inform the path to early rollout of injectable and other forms of PrEP.

The IAS Regional Members’ Meeting for Africa takes place.

16:30

Find out about approaches to outbreaks of the Ebola virus disease to inform epidemic preparedness and management. Examine innovative partnerships and how to translate science into sustainable action.

In oral abstract sessions, explore metabolism and HIV pathogenesis, the spectrum of liver issues in people living with HIV, and real-world experience, acceptability and access to twice-yearly lenacapavir for PrEP. Examine the impact of integrated STI models in communities and how communities are leading with rights-based approaches to improve access and accountability.

The Global Village

The Global Village offers more than 220 activities. Here are some to consider today:

“Stories, impact and community leadership”, with recipients of the AIDS 2026 Community Project Grants sharing stories of how HIV science translated into real-world impact
“HIV and disability inclusivity in programming”, highlighting challenges and gaps facing people with disabilities and living with HIV
“That Child With AIDS”, a documentary from Brazil about experiences of growing up living with HIV during a time of intense stigma, institutional silencing and limited biomedical responses
“Dancing my way through stigma”, with a Nepali trans woman living with HIV and proudly identifying as a sex worker sharing her Indigenous dance
“Collective care and mental health”, a workshop that uses physical theatre and poetry to build sustainable HIV and LGBTIQ+ advocacy
The Youth Pavilion, where young people from across the world establish connections and lead global advocacy

The poster exhibition

Chat with presenting authors, who will be next to their posters from 12:15 to 13:15 on their assigned days. Posters to view today include:

An analysis of what community engagement really means, and why a consistent definition is important for HIV research guidelines
Presentation of genotypic data from participants screened for PURPOSE 1 and PURPOSE 2, demonstrating low circulating resistance and no phenotypic resistance to lenacapavir
The value of low-cost, context-specific contingency management in methadone programmes in Vietnam as they move from external donor funding
A rights-based analysis of political and policy drivers of HIV vulnerability among people with disabilities in Nigeria

Just published! AIDS 2026 abstract supplement. Explore the latest HIV research presented at AIDS 2026 and access all oral abstracts.

Read it for free

The exhibition

The exhibition is open from 09:30 to 17:30 BRT. Explore cutting-edge products and services and chat with people from key organizations in the HIV response. 

Rapporteur summaries

These are your go-to resources for highlights of AIDS 2026. Thanks to the AIDS 2026 team of expert rapporteurs, you can find daily recaps by each scientific track here.

HIV unmuted

Listen to the latest episode of HIV unmuted, the award-winning IAS podcast, as we explore what it means to rethink HIV prevention.

Listen now

Meet our change makers

Obed Jeovany Quiroz Murillo is a Honduran physician who works with the Pan American Social Marketing Organization to coordinate HIV prevention, care and treatment projects. His professional experience has focused on rural regions, Indigenous populations and LGBTIQ+ individuals. Obed is an alum of the 2026 IAS Person-Centred Care Advocacy Academy in Latin America and the Caribbean. In a satellite at 13:30 today, he presents on models for PrEP service delivery in rural communities in Central America.

Official media partners

Join the conversation

The official theme of AIDS 2026 is Rethink. Rebuild. Rise. Share your story or message of support using #RethinkRebuildRise!

Follow us on social media, explore the AIDS 2026 social toolkit for ready-to-use posts and graphics, and join the conference conversation.

#AIDS2026

@AIDS_conference

@International AIDS Conference

@aids_conference

@International AIDS Society

@iasociety

Thanks to our major industry sponsors

The IAS promotes the use of non-stigmatizing, people-first language. The translations are all automated in the interest of making our content as widely accessible as possible. Regretfully, they may not always adhere to the people-first language of the original version.