2026 AIDS Conference Underscores Progress and Prevention

The 26th International AIDS Conference took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this week with the theme “Rethink. Rebuild, Rise.” Global health leaders and advocates gathered for a week of sharing research and critical progress around HIV prevention, stigma, and intersectionality. 

The Conference looked to address three key questions. 

• What should change in how we approach the HIV response?
• How can we rebuild systems to put people first?
• What does it mean for all of us to rise together?

Included in the programming were presentations about PrEP, the once-daily HIV prevention pill. Experts unpacked the effectiveness of the medication and how it has changed the game for public health.

UNAIDS also released a special report for the AIDS Conference unpacking how global funding cuts have impacted HIV prevention. 

The report reads: “While the world has turned the tide against HIV, the progress is fragile and the ground beneath our feet is still shifting. The international community has entered a period of profound political and financial upheaval that threatens decades of hard-won gains against HIV.”

The conference drew experts from across the world including speakers like Public Health Leader, Francisco Ruiz, Spain’s Secretary of State of Health, Javier Padilla Bernáldez, and Professor Michel Nussenzweig. 

The research and community at the 2026 AIDS Conference is an amplifier for the continued movement to end the HIV epidemic. 

“We convene, enable, advocate and empower for a world in which HIV no longer presents a threat to public health and individual well-being,” reads the Conference website. 

If you are interested in getting on PrEP, you can do it right from your home! MISTR is a telehealth company that brings care to you, with licensed physicians and care specialists ready to get you covered. 

About MISTR

MISTR is a gay-owned and operated online platform that brings together doctors, pharmacists, and industry minds to provide resources and PrEP to folks in need. Instead of relying on insurance providers to approve the purchase of PrEP, Mistr cuts out the middleman to help people get their prescriptions covered.

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