Sat, 29th, August, 2026: Richard Keane, CEO of Living Positive Victoria; HIV/AIDS and Global Health Update

 

Last month, thousands of researchers, advocates, and community leaders gathered in South America for AIDS 2026—the 26th International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro – tackling everything from long-acting treatments to the fight against health inequality. Joining us on Saturday Magazine is Richard Keane, CEO of Living Positive Victoria, who can tell us what the latest news means for our community to ensure no one is left behind.

Record Single-Year Decline: Global donor government funding for HIV dropped by 25% in 2025—the largest single-year plunge since international funding scale-up began in 2002.

Driven by the US: The massive shortfall was driven entirely by steep declines, funding delays, and project cancellations in US international health support.

The Funding Emergency: Global rollbacks—driven heavily by the US administration’s severe cuts to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and USAID, along with reduced contributions from European nations—have resulted in over 1,700 clinic closures, thousands of health worker job losses, and up to a 64% drop in PrEP initiations in sub-Saharan Africa.

Breakthrough Science: Major developments presented included twice-yearly injectable PrEP (Lenacapavir), once-weekly oral treatment combinations (ISLEND-1 & 2 trials), a potential $15/year monthly preventive oral drug (alimatravir), and two new cases of long-term HIV remission.

Shift toward government-to-government aid models and the exclusion of “key populations” (gay men, trans people, sex workers) in funding guidelines are emboldening anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation and pushing vulnerable communities out of decision-making.

In 2025, there were 1.2 million new HIV acquisitions and 570,000 AIDS-related deaths worldwide, with new acquisitions climbing in Brazil, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Madagascar, while Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe are making progress toward 2030 targets.

Low- and middle-income countries stepped up, increasing domestic HIV spending by 4% in 2025 (accounting for nearly 60% of total global HIV funding). Over 55 countries committed to further increases in 2026. UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima warned that “the era of relying on international aid is over,” calling for urgent global debt restructuring so developing nations can fund their own health infrastructure.

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