The International Conference on HIV Treatment, Pathogenesis, and Prevention Research (INTEREST), will take place 12-15 May in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, covering new advances in HIV prevention, treatment, cure, and vaccine research and development (R&D); implementation science; and how science is being translated into impact through an African-led HIV agenda.

AVAC has compiled resources and highlights to support participation and engagement.

AVAC Infographics

For those presenting at INTEREST (as well as anyone interested in tracking the field), AVAC’s latest infographics on the HIV R&D and delivery pipelines are available in an easy-to-use slide format – including lenacapavir for HIV PrEP (LEN) volume commitments, the current landscape of prevention options in development, and the impact of US funding cuts with new data from PEPFAR. We hope these are useful for presentations and discussions at the conference and beyond.

Join AVAC, Access Bridge and Partners at These Sessions of Interest

If you are in Dar es Salaam, be sure to join sessions in which AVAC, Access Bridge, and our partners are involved.

Posters (Wednesday, 13 May and Thursday, 14 May)

• HIV Prevention Research and Development at a Tipping Point: Insights from the 2025 People’s Research Agenda Update by AVAC’s Grace Kumwenda
  
  Identifying key priorities for the HIV prevention research agenda moving forward and informing global advocacy and engagement in R&D in response to the evolving HIV prevention landscape, including recent scientific advances and growing threats posed by funding and political disruptions.

• Getting PrEP Rollout Right This Time: Lessons from the field by Access Bridge’s Catherine Verde Hashim, presented by Wawira Nyagah
  
  Learn from experts how we can improve and accelerate PrEP introduction at every step along the product introduction pathway. Access the full report: Getting PrEP rollout right this time

• Community Led Research on HIV Treatment, Pathogenesis and Prevention among People who use Drugs in Tanzania by Kwame Juma of Tanzania Network of People Who Use Drugs (TaNPUD) and COMPASS
  
  Description forthcoming!

Mini-Oral Abstract (Friday, 15 May)

• Global Forecast of Long-Acting PrEP Need for Key Populations (2025-2030), by Catherine Verde Hashim presented Wawira Nyagah; 12:00-12:24
  
  Understand the need for long-acting PrEP amongst key populations globally and explore which countries have the highest need.

What We’re Watching

The INTEREST 2026 program includes a full list of sessions, including the following, which AVAC is tracking closely (note: all times are local Tanzanian time):

Tuesday, 12 May

• Opening session with welcome addresses from conference chairs, including AVAC Board member Nyaradzo Mgodi, 9:00-10:45
• Special Session 1: Building Africa’s End to End Vaccine R&D and Manufacturing Ecosystem: Achieve Africa’s Vision, Progress, and Roadmap to Sovereignty, 16:15- 17:00

Wednesday, 13 May

• Session 7: HIV Prevention I: Cure and Vaccine, 8:30-9:15
• Session 8: HIV Prevention II: Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies and Gene Therapy, 14:25-15:10
• Session 9: HIV Prevention III: New Prevention Technologies, with AVAC Board members Nyaradzo Mgodi and Linda-Gail Bekker, 16:35-17:20

If you are attending INTEREST 2026 and would like to connect, reach out to the AVAC and Access Bridge teams at [email protected] and [email protected]. And stay up to date on the latest news from AVAC via our newsletters or on LinkedIn.

At the SYNChronicity conference, this morning plenary session will bring together nationally recognized leaders who exemplify true synchronicity across scientific discovery, clinical practice, policy, and real-world implementation. This session will highlight how aligning drug user health, long COVID and vaccine research, care delivery, advocacy, and public health strategy accelerates meaningful impact, advances innovation, and improves outcomes — particularly for communities most affected by chronic diseases.

Speakers will provide critical updates on biomedical HIV prevention, vaccine preparedness, and current research studies shaping the prevention landscape; explore the intersections with drug user health, highlighting models that bridge treatment, harm reduction, and community-based support; discuss lessons from long COVID research and chronic disease management to draw connections to advocacy, research equity, and patient-led movements; and share insights on synchronizing policy and research with public health priorities and marginalized community needs.

Speakers: Gregorio Millett, MPH; Mitchell Warren; JD Davids; and Judith Feinberg, MD

Advocacy requires us to understand that local actions connect to broader systemic change. This plenary session at AIDSWatch will discuss the interconnected nature of advocacy at the state, national, and global levels and highlight how policies, movements, and decisions influence one another. Participants will examine the tactics of our current administration, learn how grassroots work impacts national and global efforts, and identify how we can learn from each other and collaborate as we face unprecedented threats at every level.

Speakers: Kamaria Laffrey, SERO Project; John Meade, AVAC; Joseph Stango, AIDS United; Kelly Flannery, PWN

Moderator: Liz Kaplan

IAS 2027, the 14th IAS Conference on HIV Science, will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, and virtually from 12 to 15 July 2027. Around 5,000 people from more than 130 countries are expected to attend.

The IAS Conference on HIV Science is the world’s most influential meeting on HIV research and its applications. Through its open and inclusive programme, the meeting sets the gold standard of HIV science, featuring latest HIV research and innovations that move science into policy and practice.

AIDS 2026, the 26th International AIDS Conference, took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and virtually from the 26-31 July 2026. Under the theme Rethink. Rebuild. Rise. it took place at a defining moment for the global HIV response. Alongside the latest research, discussions focused on scaling up long-acting HIV prevention, strengthening health systems, advancing country ownership, and ensuring the future of HIV prevention remains rooted in innovation, implementation and sustained investment.

See AVAC’s impact at AIDS 2026.

AVAC’s resources, events and insights from the conference are below.

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Check out AVAC’s Highlights from the Meeting

• Advocates Lead at AIDS 2026: Moving from a seat at the table to the head of the table — October 7, 2026
• The State of HIV Prevention: Big News, Big Moves: Reflections from AIDS 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — August 18, 2026
• Beyond AIDS 2026: AVAC’s Top 10 — August 5, 2026
• AIDS 2026: Rising Above to Meet the Moment — August 5, 2026
• Innovation Without Access is Injustice: AIDS 2026 Opens in Rio — July 28, 2026
• Science, Systems, and Communities: Turning Progress into Impact — July 30, 2026

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Looking for key takeaways from the conference?

Watch here for highlights of the meeting from AVAC’s executive director, Mitchell Warren.

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AVAC Session Roadmaps

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Resources

AVAC’s latest infographics on the research and development pipeline, prevention options, and the impact of US funding cuts can be accessed here.

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Resource Hubs

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Pre-conferences, Satellites, Sessions and Workshops Featuring AVAC and Partners

Sunday, 26 July

• Pre-conference: Advancing HIV prevention science and access
  08:00 – 19:00
  Hosted by the International AIDS Society, this pre-conference features six sessions showcasing the latest advances in HIV prevention science and access—including the Global Forecast of Long-Acting PrEP Need for Key Populations (2025–2030), developed jointly by GBGMC and AVAC. AVAC board, staff and partners will also explore the science behind next-generation HIV vaccine candidates and how to translate.

Monday, 27 July

• Satellite: Shared pipeline; shared goal: Innovations in long-acting antiretrovirals for PrEP, PEP and treatment
  11:30 – 12:30 
  Organized by AVAC, this session will bring together researchers, product developers, donors, advocates and other partners to explore the future of long-acting antiretroviral (ARV) innovation for PrEP, PEP and treatment.

Tuesday, 28 July

• Symposium: bNAbs for cure: Hope or hype?
  10:30-11:30
  AVAC Board Member Marina Caskey will present in this symposium exploring the promise—and limitations—of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) for HIV cure.

Wednesday, 29 July

• Symposium: Leadership at the tipping point: Protecting the gains and advancing progress in a new era of the HIV response
  10:30-11:30
  Moderated by AVAC’s Mitchell Warren and HER Voice Fund Ambassador Nomonde Ngema, this symposium explores the future of the global HIV response amid shifting political priorities and an evolving global health landscape.

• Satellite: Choosing impact: Making long-acting HIV prevention a reality for key populations in sub-Saharan Africa
  12:00 – 13:00
  Organized by Global Black Gay Men Connect (GBGMC) with AVAC and a number of partners participating, this session will examine strategies to sustain and expand HIV prevention for key populations as long-acting prevention options become available.

• Satellite: To fund or not to fund: Pathways and proof points to sustaining HIV prevention as part of integrated approaches and health financing reforms
  18:00 – 19:30
  Organized by PATH, AVAC, UNAIDS, WHO, Unitaid, APCOM, ICWEA, Harvard, Frontline AIDS and the Elton John AIDS Foundation, this session will examine the growing HIV prevention funding crisis and what’s needed to sustain progress.

Thursday, 30 July

• Workshop: Skills Lab: Community-led monitoring
  12:00 – 13:30
  Facilitated by the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC), NACOSA, the Network of Journalists Living with HIV (JONEHA) and community monitoring experts, including AVAC Senior Advisor Maureen Luba, this interactive workshop will strengthen practical skills in community-led monitoring (CLM).

• Symposium: From community to innovation to scale
  16:30 – 17:30
  AVAC’s Grace Kumwenda will join community leaders, researchers, clinicians, policymakers and funders to discuss the partnerships, inclusive research and implementation strategies needed to accelerate innovation and ensure equitable access from the outset.

• Satellite: From choice to impact: Long-acting and multipurpose HIV prevention technologies
  18:00 – 19:30
  Hosted by IPM South Africa, AVAC and Access Bridge’s Kate Segal and Ascend Futures Foundation’s Chilufya Kasanda will join researchers, advocates, implementers and policymakers to examine the latest scientific advances, implementation strategies and pathways to equitable access for long-acting options and MPTs.

Friday, July 31

• Symposium: The promises of long-acting injectable PrEP for HIV prevention
  10:30 – 11:30
  Access Bridge Executive Director Wawira Nyagah share community perspectives on early implementation of injectable cabotegravir and lenacapavir, identifying remaining gaps, and discussing strategies to accelerate equitable rollout.

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HIV Cure Research at AIDS 2026

Explore HIV cure research sessions at AIDS 2026 with Treatment Action Group (TAG)’s curated list of conference sessions and events.

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Both a Question and an Answer to Integration

Introducing the Dual Prevention Pill (DPP) will require integration of contraception and PrEP in guidelines, health systems, delivery approaches, and demand creation. Join us to discuss how programs should think about rolling out novel prevention products like the DPP in the current landscape, learning from projects across sub-Saharan Africa.

Moderator

• Isolde Birdthistle, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Speakers

• Dr. Lori Miller, IPPF
• Nelia Banda, CHAI
• Rhoda Msiska, Copper Rose Zambia

PDF version of flyer also available.

Since its inaugural convening in Kampala, Uganda in 2009, the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) has grown into more than just a conference. It has become a global community, a dynamic movement, and a trusted digital platform advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for all.

ICFP brings together researchers, governments, advocates, health equity champions, and local communities to celebrate progress, pledge new commitments, and chart the way forward. Rooted in collaboration, inclusivity, innovation, and scientific integrity, it serves as a strategic inflection point for advancing universal access to family planning and reproductive health.

The ICFP 2025 theme, “Equity Through Action: Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for All,” reflects the urgency of addressing systemic inequities through innovative solutions and concrete commitments. Participants will have access to a wide range of sessions—from plenaries, panel discussions, and debates to workshops, side events, and networking opportunities—all designed to spark dialogue, strengthen partnerships, and inspire action.