below): ICYMI, this week's #GlobalHealthWatch covers key takeaways from #AIDS2026, #Fauci's Senate hearing & growing attacks on #science, new US restrictions on gain-of-function research & @Gavi finally receives funding, buff.ly/NTx4XzD

Some good news: Senate finalizes funding patch that would block Trump’s grant overhaul; language is included to delay the president’s move to put political appointees in charge of grant approval.

Senate finalizes funding patch that would block Trump’s grant overhaul

Language is included to delay the president’s move to put political appointees in charge of grant approval.

buff.ly

“We stop thinking small [my hope is that] we actually begin to not only think big, but act big with speed and scale and equity with #lenacapavir.” Read more of AVAC’s coverage from #AIDS2026,

Science, Systems, and Communities: Turning Progress into Impact

As the AIDS 2026 conference enters its second half, one message has emerged above all others: the barriers to ending HIV are no longer primarily scientific; they are political. In one of the “most…

buff.ly

Proud to stand with Tony Fauci. Read AVAC's letter of support to the Committee on Homeland Security Governmental Affairs ahead of last week's hearing, avac.org/resource/let....

USA TODAY@usatoday.com · 5d ago

Public health experts and advocates are defending Dr. Anthony Fauci after he faced fierce criticism from Republicans at a Senate hearing.

Congratulations to Sanele Ncobo, Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, Elise Lankiewiczand Alana Sharp for receiving the 2026 JIAS Impact Award, acknowledging their high-impact publications. 👏 #AIDS2026 #RethinkRebuildRise

What comes after #AIDS2026? AVAC’s ED shares his hopes for the future: stop thinking and acting small. Act big, with speed, scale and equity to ensure new innovative #hivprevention options reach everyone who needs them. youtu.be/klqr28l3xMQ

What comes after #AIDS2026?

YouTube video by HIVPxResearch

youtu.be

"Communities need to design. We may not understand all the #science, but trust me, we are brilliant when it comes to designing research around what we really need." A powerful reminder from our Grace Kumwenda & panelists at the #AIDS2026 session "From community to innovation to scale." #HIV #PrEP

Another important read from our friends at @aidsmap.bsky.social, www.aidsmap.com/news/jul-202...

Promise of monthly oral pill sparks renewed interest in post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)

An unexpected but welcome development at the 26th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026) in Rio was the reappearance of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV as a subject for scientific study and...

aidsmap.com

Monthly PrEP pill could be made for US$3 a year, but Latin America is shut out of generic licensing @aidsconference.bsky.social @iasociety.bsky.social #AIDS2026 www.aidsmap.com/news/jul-202...

Monthly PrEP pill could be made for US$3 a year, but Latin America is shut out of generic licensing

Merck's investigational once-monthly PrEP pill could be manufactured and sold profitably for around $3 per person per year, making it the cheapest HIV prevention drug ever brought to market, the 26th ...

aidsmap.com

As the #AIDS2026 conference enters its 2nd half, one message has emerged above all others: the barriers to ending #HIV are no longer primarily scientific; they are political. Read our summary of conference highlights so far, avac.org/blog/science...

👂 What's interesting & important at #AIDS2026? Hear AVAC's Grace Kumwenda on innovative service delivery strategies for #PrEP and more. "My hope is that the people that were in the room take the messaging to our countries so that we get to implement this." youtube.com/shorts/mBNEX...

Grace Kumwenda on innovative service delivery strategies at #AIDS2026

YouTube video by HIVPxResearch

youtube.com

He liked talking to the media long before it was glamorous. Long before it was fun. Long before it got him the attention of movie stars. open.substack.com/pub/maggiefo...

Why I Always Trusted Tony Fauci

Hint: He never lied to me

open.substack.com

This year's IAC is a showdown over whether Latin America will gain access to new HIV prevention tools. Plus, more good news on lenacapavir, and community groups are left out of new bilateral health deals.

Special edition: Access takes center stage at International AIDS Conference

Special edition: Access takes center stage at International AIDS Conference

devex.com

Powerful presentation from Mark Harrington, who says the same anger that suffused the 2000 Int'l AIDS Conference in Durban, and fueled a global movement to expand affordable access to treatment, is missing from #IAC2026. At the same time, similar concerns around disinformation and inequity persist.

The #CAPRISA 012C trial results presented at #AIDS2026 today are disappointing, but as AVAC's ED explains, understanding why these two #bnabs didn't work will help inform future vaccines, cure research & #HIVprevention strategies. Watch his take, tinyurl.com/ym8xpkmm

#aids2026 #bnabs #hivprevention #lenacapavir #cure | AVAC

Today at #AIDS2026, the CAPRISA team shared results from the CAPRISA 012C trial evaluating a combination of two broadly neutralizing antibodies (#bNAbs), CAP256 and VRC07 for #HIVprevention. As Mitche...

linkedin.com

The irony cannot be oversated. As the global HIV community gathers in Rio for #AIDS2026 sharing innovations that could help end the epidemic, Anthony Fauci is testifying before the US Senate. The biggest barriers to ending HIV today are increasingly political, not scientific.

Helen Branswell 🇨🇦@helenbranswell.bsky.social · last wk.

For decades, Tony Fauci was beloved on both sides of the political aisle in Washington. Those days are over. www.statnews.com/2026/07/29/f...

Incredible plenary on the future of #HIVprevention this morning at #AIDS2026. Hear AVAC's take on the main themes coming out of Rio, youtu.be/nYPU8v6hfn0

What's happening at #AIDS2026 in Rio?

YouTube video by HIVPxResearch

youtu.be

A new twice-yearly injectable form of HIV prevention has been the star of this year’s International AIDS Conference, but as I write for Devex, Latin America is still waiting for access.

Devex@devex.com · last wk.

As experts reveal how new prevention methods could change the global HIV response, most of Latin America is still looking for access to the new injectables and pills.

“The evidence was always there - it still is. Now the question is if these lives are worth the risk and political will it takes to save them. That is not a scientific question, it is a moral one” - Raphael Landovitz at today's #AIDS2026 plenary #rethinkrebuildrise

🧵 "...alimatravir for $3 a yr could be the cheapest #HIVprevention drug the world has ever seen... But it needs to be $3 everywhere, not just some places." - Sam Cross in the #AIDS2026 Economics of Impact session.

"We need a community governance layer built into the AI ecosystem - one that ensures communities help shape priorities & hold systems accountable” - @itpc.bsky.social's Solange Baptiste @ “AI & HIV: Who owns the future of public health". See our #AIDS2026 #AIHIV roadmap, avac.org/wp-content/u...

"PrEP is about choice and our different lifestyles." — Josephine Aseme, the 1st person to receive #lenacapavir for PrEP in Nigeria, speaking at Real Talk, Real Access: KP Community Demands for the Next Wave of PrEP. Communities are leading the conversation on what's next. #AIDS2026 #PrEP

AVAC: Innovation Without Access is Injustice: AIDS 2026 Opens in Rio bit.ly/3Rx0p0Q @avac.org HIV @iasociety.bsky.social

Follow along with whats happening at the @iasociety.bsky.social's #AIDS2026 conference in Rio. 📖 AVAC's first dispatch, avac.org/blog/innovat... “Innovation without access is injustice.” That msg, delivered during Mon.'s opening ceremony captured the defining theme emerging in Rio.

Lots happening at the #AIDS2026 #HIVprevention and #cure networking zone (booth 135) today! Here's the lineup (Brazil time): 💠 Let's Gossip About PrEP: 10:30am 💠 Real Talk, Real Access: 12:15pm 💠 PEP Rally: 16:00pm Full schedule at: avac.org/aids2026-nz/

On 1 Sept 5-6pm, aidsmap is holding a webinar bringing together key insights & emerging evidence from the @aidsconference.bsky.social. aidsmap's Gus Cairns & Edith Magak, with Professor Monica Gandhi, will present their personal highlights from #AIDS2026 https://aidsmap.webinargeek.com/aids2026

#HIVunwrapped took center stage at the opening ceremony of #AIDS2026! Where fashion meets #science — a powerful look at how #hiv researchers and fashion designers are teaming up to bring information on HIV to new audiences, vimeo.com/1140217977/4...

"Yet @ the very moment science is opening doors, many of those doors are closed... Innovation without access becomes privilege. Science commitment cannot save lives, & a breakthrough that reaches only a few is not a breakthrough for humanity." - Alberto Pereira Da Silva Jr. at the #AIDS2026 opening

Donor government funding for HIV dropped by $2.1 billion in 2025 due to changes made by the US last year, marking the largest annual decrease since scale-up for the HIV response began. KFF experts examine the numbers: https://on.kff.org/4bdvNYN

The new @unaids.org "United to End AIDS" just released at #AIDS2026 makes clear that progress is at risk, www.unaids.org/en/resources... "This is an alarm bell... We have to change how we do what we do and how we fund what we do if we want to succeed."