“Innovation without access is injustice.” That message, delivered during Monday evening’s opening ceremony of the 26th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026) by Brazil’s Minister of Health, Alexandre Padilha and media personality, Alberto Pereira Jr. captured the defining theme emerging from the first days of the meeting. As scientific innovation accelerates with new prevention options, cure research and long-acting antiretroviral treatment advancing, advocates, researchers, health officials and donors are warning that shrinking funding, unequal access and fragile delivery systems threaten to undermine decades of progress. The message is clear: scientific innovation alone will not end the epidemic.
Check out AVAC’s highlights from the preconference, satellite and opening sessions.SEE ALSO: