Latin America has significantly expanded access to HIV treatment and seen the number of AIDS-related deaths reduce by 31% since 2010 – but deaths have increased among women in several countries. Against a global decline in new HIV acquisition rates, Latin America saw an increase of 13% from 2010 to 2024. The Caribbean, meanwhile, saw a bigger drop than Latin America in AIDS-related deaths – 62% since 2010 – mostly due to treatment scale up. 

Key populations 

In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), key populations – men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, people in prisons and other closed settings, sex workers and trans people – are disproportionately affected. 

People from key populations and their sex partners accounted for 66% of new HIV acquisitions in Latin America and 47% of new acquisitions in the Caribbean in 2022. More than a quarter of new HIV acquisitions in the LAC in 2024 were among young people (15-24 years). 

Funding and sustainability

Latin America is among the regions with the highest levels of domestic resources for the HIV response – 96% in 2024. The current funding crisis still led to significant disruptions and challenges for HIV services in the region, particularly for populations such as migrants, LGBTQ+ communities and people living with HIV. The withdrawal of US support has led to the suspension of humanitarian projects and reduced HIV service delivery by NGOs and UN agencies. This includes loss of access to antiretroviral therapy, pre-exposure prophylaxis and other essential services. More than 66% of the Caribbean’s HIV resources depend on external aid, and the funding crisis has strained HIV programmes, especially prevention services for key populations.

Hosting AIDS 2026 in Latin America provides an opportunity to bring attention to these increasingly vulnerable populations, as well as Indigenous communities.

Brazil’s leadership in the HIV response

Brazil has long been committed to a science-driven, human rights-based approach to HIV, responding with innovation and leadership. It was the first low- or middle-income country to provide free access to highly active antiretroviral therapy to people living with HIV in the late 1990s. It adopted the Treat All policy in 2013, which has resulted in AIDS-related deaths falling by almost 33% by 2023. Its combination prevention strategy offers free access to condoms, HIV testing, PEP and, since 2018, PrEP.

Health and social innovation

Brazil has made significant contributions to the field of HIV research. Recent examples are the HPTN 083 and PURPOSE 2 studies, which demonstrated high efficacy of long-acting injectables cabotegravir and lenacapavir for HIV prevention, respectively. Both studies were conducted in multiple countries, including Brazil. In addition, Brazil has participated in other large-scale clinical trials, like the Mosaico vaccine trial, and coordinates large PrEP implementation studies, such as ImPrEP (2017-2021, in Brazil, Mexico and Peru), ImPrEP-CAB LA Brasil (2023-ongoing) and ImPrEP LEN Brasil (2025-ongoing).

Brazil’s Unified Health System continues to ensure universal and free access to HIV diagnosis, treatment and prevention services. Brazil’s Bolsa Família Programme, one of the world’s largest conditional cash transfer initiatives, reduced incidence rate ratios for AIDS, HIV and AIDS-related hospitalizations, and AIDS mortality. It showed that conditional cash transfers can significantly reduce AIDS morbidity and mortality in extremely vulnerable populations and should be considered an essential intervention to achieve AIDS-related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.