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Positively Positive - Living with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS News Archive - July 2025
World Hepatitis Day 2025: Hepatitis burden remains high across the EU/EEA, with the majority of people unaware they are infected
28 Jul 2025 - European Centre for Disease Prevention (ECDC) - Marking World Hepatitis Day, data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reveal a significant public health challenge. An estimated five million people in the European Union and European Economic area (EU/EEA) are living with chronic hepatitis B or C – infections that are leading causes of liver disease and cancer – with the majority of people unaware they are infected.
According to recent ECDC estimates, 3.2 million people are living with chronic hepatitis B and 1.8 million with chronic hepatitis C across the EU/EEA. In the EU/EEA, hepatitis B and C are linked to around 50 000 deaths each year – 15 000 related to hepatitis B and 35 000 related to hepatitis C – with deaths from liver cancer due to viral hepatitis continuing to increase. Furthermore, research suggests that over 65% of people with hepatitis B and 62% of people with hepatitis C are still undiagnosed and so not receiving care, putting them at a high risk of developing chronic liver disease and liver cancer.
IAS welcomes US bipartisan move to protect PEPFAR
16 July 2025 - Kigali, Rwanda – IAS - International AIDS Society - IAS – the International AIDS Society – welcomes the bipartisan move in the US Senate to protect the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) from proposed USD 400 million cuts in President Trump’s rescission package. However, both the Senate and House must still vote on the final rescission package, and further changes could be reintroduced before the statutory deadline for action.
“PEPFAR has been one of the greatest success stories in global health, transforming the HIV response,” IAS President Beatriz Grinsztejn said. “Global advocacy played a crucial role in persuading US lawmakers to protect this vital programme, reminding them that decisions about PEPFAR shape the health and futures of people around the world. Yet uncertainty remains, with ongoing threats to global health funding. We must stay vigilant.”
Momentum builds for long-acting HIV solutions as IAS 2025 spotlights scientific progress, funding challenges and leaders’ calls to action
14 July 2025 - Kigali, Rwanda – IAS - International AIDS Society - New WHO guidelines endorse long-acting injectable lenacapavir for HIV prevention, Medicines Patent Pool expands licence for long-acting injectable cabotegravir for treatment, and Merck’s once-monthly oral pill MK-8527 advances to Phase 3 trials in Africa
IAS 2025, the 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science, opened today with a call to accelerate access to long-acting HIV prevention and treatment innovations amid growing global funding challenges. Four thousand participants are attending IAS 2025 in Kigali, Rwanda, and virtually. The IAS Conference on HIV Science is the world’s most influential meeting on HIV research and its applications.
Dr Sabin Nsanzimana, Minister of Health of Rwanda, delivered welcoming remarks at a press conference, entitled “Breakthroughs amid crisis: The future of HIV innovation”, directly preceding the opening session.
Countries must urgently step up to transform their HIV responses amid an international funding crisis that risks millions of lives
GENEVA/JOHANNESBURG, 10 July 2025 - UNAIDS - UNAIDS today launched its 2025 Global AIDS Update, AIDS, Crisis and the Power to Transform, which shows that a historic funding crisis is threatening to unravel decades of progress unless countries can make radical shifts to HIV programming and funding.
The report highlights the impact that the sudden, large-scale funding cuts from international donors are having on countries most affected by HIV. Yet it also showcases some inspiring examples of resilience, with countries and communities stepping up in the face of adversity to protect the gains made and drive the HIV response forward.
Global Fund Secures Access to Breakthrough HIV Prevention Drug Lenacapavir for Low- and Middle-Income Countries
GENEVA - 09 July 2025 - Global Fund - A pivotal moment in the fight to end AIDS — ensuring lifesaving innovation reaches those who need it most, wherever they live
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) today announced it has signed an access agreement with Gilead Sciences to procure lenacapavir, a long-acting injectable for HIV prevention, for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This marks the first time in history that an HIV prevention product will be introduced in LMICs at the same time as in high-income countries — a significant milestone for global health equity.
The agreement follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of lenacapavir for HIV prevention in June and represents one of the most significant advances in HIV prevention in decades. As the first twice-yearly, long-acting injectable for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), lenacapavir expands the HIV prevention choice basket — offering a powerful new option for people who experience stigma, adherence challenges with existing PrEP tools, or other barriers in their daily lives
Experts at the 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science warn global HIV gains at risk amid sudden funding cuts
8 July 2025 (Kigali, Rwanda) – IAS - International AIDS Society - Researchers present predictive modelling and real-world data from Africa and Latin America revealing rising HIV acquisitions, stalled treatment and fragile health systems
IAS 2025, the 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science, taking place in Kigali, Rwanda, and virtually from 13 to 17 July, will feature an array of studies that address the current political and financial issues affecting the HIV response, including the implications for Africa and around the world.
Recent global funding cuts have fundamentally disrupted the HIV response, threatening life-saving research, prevention and care. Abstracts presented at the conference will give a detailed look at the stark impact of the cuts. They will also show how experts and advocates are working on the ground to confront these new and urgent challenges.
Press programme for IAS 2025, the 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science
7 July 2025 - (Geneva, Switzerland) – IAS - International AIDS Society - The press conference programme for IAS 2025, the 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science, is detailed below and available online. The IAS Conference on HIV Science is the world’s most influential meeting on HIV research and its applications.
IAS 2025 will be a hybrid conference, taking place in Kigali, Rwanda, and virtually from 13 to 17 July 2025. The press programme will include three press conferences: one spotlighting key science featured at the conference; one launching the annual UNAIDS Global AIDS Update; and an opening press conference on the future of the global HIV response.
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