WHO @ IAS 2025

The IAS Conference on HIV Science is the world’s largest and most influential meeting on HIV research and its applications and provides a unique opportunity for WHO to present its normative work, while demonstrating leadership and contribution to the health sector response to HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), mpox and other health emergencies. Since 1988, WHO has been a strategic partner of the IAS Conferences, providing technical, financial and strategic support. The 2025 Conference, held in Kigali, Rwanda is expected to attract up to 6 000 participants, including heads of state, government representatives, donors, civil society and communities, making it a crucial event for WHO.

IAS 2025’s location in Africa is particularly timely given the ongoing impact of HIV on the continent and the progress achieved to date. In 2024, an estimated 26.3 million people were living with HIV in the African Region, where despite remarkable progress, HIV remains a critical public health issue, as the region continues to carry a disproportionate burden of the global HIV epidemic.

As global efforts to end HIV continue, innovative strategies to increase access to and uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) are essential. Through expert presentations, panel discussions, and interactive dialogues, we will: Highlight key insights from HIVST implementation, including diverse delivery models, monitoring and evaluation strategies, and approaches to measure impact. Present findings from WHO’s HIVST impact modeling, shedding light on the potential contribution of HIVST to global HIV prevention goals. Share early lessons from integrating HIVST to support oral PrEP initiation and continuation and explore its applicability for long-acting PrEP options. Discuss key results from HIVST and PrEP impact modeling with implications for scale-up and policy adoption.

Perinatal HIV and antiretroviral drug exposure makes these children more vulnerable than others to infectious morbidity, mortality, impaired growth and suboptimal neurodevelopmental and cognitive outcomes – despite starting life HIV free. As our understanding evolves, a multifaceted approach is needed to understand the impact of newer HIV treatment options available for pregnant persons with HIV, identify those at risk for poorer outcomes, and continue research on the mechanistic pathways of observed differences, the screening tools, interventions, policy development, and advocacy needed to optimize the health of children and adolescent born HIV-free to women living with HIV. This symposium, “Taking action to ensure that children and adolescents with perinatal exposure thrive,” present the latest scientific findings and address health policy and programming to support children with perinatal exposure to thrive. It fosters networking opportunities for researchers, policy makers, implementers, community members and advocates.

The session will feature key advancements in WHO’ normative work, including the introduction of new guidelines for groundbreaking health technologies like the long-acting injectable Lenacapavir for HIV prevention. Experts will also explore how these recommendations contribute to advancing disease goals for HIV and other communicable diseases. Additionally, the session will explore how these new guidelines can shape the overall public health response. Stakeholders will share insights on the implications for policy and practice across different settings, with an emphasis on reaching those in need and achieving sustainable, long-lasting impact.

The global response to HIV has been severely impacted by recent suspensions and reductions in official development assistance for health programmes. These interruptions threaten the continuity of essential health services, leading to setbacks in preventing new infections and increasing the risk of a resurgence in epidemics, potentially reversing decades of progress.

Experts will discuss how political commitment, innovative research and evidence-based interventions are crucial to accelerating progress, supporting integration and sustaining impact in the future of the global HIV response. Key stakeholders will share insights on overcoming challenges, particularly in light of funding and service disruptions, and aligning global efforts to achieve lasting, transformative change.

CloseRead more

Yet, this shift allows countries to reconsider their health care systems – advancing integration into PHC to achieve sustainable health for all. This pragmatic session will consider how, when, and where HIV services and enabling multisectoral actions and systems (human resources for health; supply chain; financing) are included in PHC approaches to ensure people living with and vulnerable to HIV are not left behind. This session will feature novel public-, private- and community-led efforts to integrate HIV into PHC; highlight HIV learnings adopted within country PHC reforms; and conclude with considerations from an expert panel of community, government, funder, and private sector representatives for integrated HIV/PHC models to ensure long-term sustainability as part of UHC2030 goals

CloseRead more

WHO now recommends lenacapavir for HIV prevention and is reviewing evidence on new long-acting ARVs for treatment. Findings on cabotegravir and lenacapavir safety in pregnancy from the HPTN 084 OLE and PURPOSE 1 clinical trials have seen the recommendations becoming inclusive of pregnant women for HIV prevention, but more research and safety monitoring are needed for less common outcomes. However, some new ARV protocols are non-inclusive of pregnant women, and recent changes in foreign aid have disrupted implementation studies and safety surveillance. This symposium will present new data on lenacapavir and cabotegravir in pregnancy and breastfeeding, outline plans for inclusive research, and discuss priority actions to advance research, development, introduction and use of new long-acting ARVs for HIV prevention and treatment during pregnancy and breastfeeding. It is aimed at research networks, communities, country programme managers, companies, funders, technical partners and regulators.

CloseRead more