KIGALI, July 14 (Xinhua) — The 13th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science officially opened Monday in the Rwandan capital of Kigali, with a strong call to accelerate access to long-acting HIV prevention and treatment innovations amid growing global funding challenges.
The event, themed “Breakthroughs amid Crisis: the Future of HIV Innovation,” has convened about 4,000 participants, including global leaders, researchers, scientists, and civil society members.
Speaking at the conference, Rwandan Minister of Health Sabin Nsanzimana said that Rwanda’s experience in the HIV response over the past few decades demonstrates what is possible when countries prioritize people-centered approaches and invest in strategic partnerships.
“We have better tools for prevention and treatment. We have better ways to engage our communities to fight stigma and discrimination, and better integration within our systems. This means we can not only achieve HIV control, but we also need to strengthen our health systems,” he added.
IAS President Beatriz Grinsztein underlined new World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, groundbreaking licensing agreements, and promising research as signs that long-acting HIV prevention and treatment options are becoming more feasible for widespread use.
“Our next challenge is clear: leaders must commit the funding and resources needed to integrate these scientific advances into health systems quickly and equitably so that people everywhere can benefit from these life-changing options,” Grinsztejn emphasized.
At the event, the WHO issued a statement announcing new guidelines that recommend using injectable lenacapavir twice a year as an additional pre-exposure prophylaxis option for HIV prevention — a landmark policy action that could help reshape the global HIV response.
“While an HIV vaccine remains elusive, lenacapavir is the next best thing: a long-acting antiretroviral shown in trials to prevent almost all HIV infections among those at risk,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is quoted as saying in the statement.
The IAS Conference on HIV Science is recognized as the world’s most influential meeting on HIV research and its applications.
Its 2025 edition, which runs until Thursday, features hundreds of sessions and presentations focused on translating scientific breakthroughs into real-world impact, with a particular emphasis on solutions for regions and populations most affected by HIV. ■