In Rio de Janeiro, the 26th International AIDS Conference convenes at a moment of profound contradiction: humanity has produced HIV prevention tools of near-perfect efficacy, yet the systems built to deliver them are fracturing under funding collapse and political retreat. Across 62 countries, access to PrEP fell 38 percent in a single year, and 570,000 people died of AIDS-related causes in 2025—not for lack of a solution, but for lack of will. The gathering asks an ancient question in modern form: when we possess the means to prevent suffering, what does it say about us if we choose not to us
AIDS Conference Highlights Funding Crisis as New Prevention Tools Offer Hope
570,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2025; millions lack access to prevention and treatment due to funding cuts and discriminatory policies.