June 17, 2026
UN member states and agencies will meet next week, June 22 and 23 for the 2026 UN High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS (HLM) with the goal of charting a path toward ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. HLMs on HIV/AIDS have been held every five years since 2001—the meeting that energized the HIV/AIDS response and led to the creation of the Global Fund and PEPFAR. However, this year’s meeting arrives at a time of shrinking HIV budgets, disruptions to prevention and treatment programs, under investment, and questions about the future of multilateral cooperation.
See the new UNAIDS report published last week, which shows that external funding cuts, a strong push back on human rights and under investment and under prioritization of HIV prevention and community services are threatening to reverse years of gains in the AIDS response. UNAIDS also has resources for the HLM here. Read more below for what’s at stake and how to engage in the process.
The HLM will test whether governments are prepared to match innovation with the political commitment, financing, human rights protections and community leadership needed to continue moving forward. With or without a declaration, the HIV movement must continue pushing forward based on the scientific evidence and human rights.
What To Watch
At the center of the meeting is a political declaration to guide the global HIV response for the next five years. Civil society organizations outlined a range of priorities in the lead-up to the HLM, and negotiations on this declaration have already become contentious. Advocates and many delegations raised concerns about efforts to weaken commitments on key populations, human rights, community leadership, access to medicines, financing, and discriminatory laws.
All eyes will be on New York next week as country delegations, advocates, policymakers and journalists monitor the negotiations. Stay tuned for more: AVAC will summarize the latest developments in our weekly Global Health Watch newsletter.
Why the HLM Matters
As AVAC’s Mitchell Warren told Global Dispatches podcast, “[Progress] all stems from shared strategy that these high-level meetings and that the multilateral system have codified… this high-level meeting is not just a check-in on progress and a forward-looking strategic declaration. It’s a test of the concept. It is a test of the will of political leaders and of civil society. Are we still in a global discourse about ending an epidemic? Or are we closing borders and shutting down and leaving every country and every community to do it themselves? Because if we are, the end of this epidemic is going to be pushed out many, many years. And that’s the test of concept ahead of us.”
In New York? Join Us
Delivering the HIV Prevention Ambition: Partnership, Country and Community Leadership, and Shared Accountability
Monday, June 22, 2026; 1:15-2:30pm EDT
On the sidelines of the HLM, AVAC will join UNAIDS, UNFPA and the Global HIV Prevention Coalition for a discussion on how to achieve the global 40+20 prevention targets to reach 20 million people with prevention services by 2030.
Accelerating Progress Towards Ending HIV, TB, Hepatitis and STIs New Approaches to End Major Epidemics
Monday, June 22, 2026; 1:15-2:30pm EDT
The WHO and UN Member States will convene partners for an HLM side event focused on accelerating progress against HIV, TB, viral hepatitis and STIs. During this event, AVAC and partners will explore new approaches to sustain gains, address persistent inequalities and advance the global effort to end these major epidemics.
The HLM will test whether governments are prepared to match innovation with the political commitment, financing, human rights protections and community leadership needed to continue moving forward. With or without a declaration, the HIV movement must continue pushing forward based on the scientific evidence and human rights.